Abstract:
A holder device for holding containers of different sizes and shapes including, but not limited to, cups, plates, dishes and cookware. The holder device includes a base for supporting containers of different sizes and shapes, the base including a plurality of slots formed therein. A plurality of pegs are provided which are slidably received, one each, in the plurality of slots. Each of the plurality of pegs are independently securable against sliding movement in a plurality of positions along the lengths of the plurality of slots to accommodate containers of various sizes and shapes. The plurality of pegs are laterally engageable with a side periphery of a particular container when the container is supported on the base. Upon engagement with the container side periphery, the plurality of pegs are secured from sliding movement to secure the particular container against lateral movement while supported on the base.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed toward a device for holding containers and, more particularly, toward a device for holding containers of different sizes and shapes. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Transporting containers from one location to another is an event that occurs multitudes of times daily. It may take the form of transporting a cooked food product from an oven or stove to a table for serving, or transporting uncooked food products to an area for cooking. An example of the latter case would be transporting uncooked meats, basting sauces, etc., from inside a house to a barbecue or grill outside of the house where the food will be prepared. Problems often arise when a food container is placed on a carrying device for transport thereof. The person transporting the container of food on the carrying device must be sure to maintain the carrying device in a level condition to prevent the food container from sliding off. This becomes a particular problem when more than one container of food is carried on a carrying device. The person must be sure to strategically disburse the weight of the various food containers equally across the surface of the carrying device for maintaining the carrying device in a level condition. Even then, a slight movement of the carrying device may shift the weight of the food containers resulting in any or all of the food containers sliding off the carrying device. The same concept applies to the transport of containers housing multitudes of contents other than food. 
     In the case of hot food dishes, the temperature of the food container must also be taken into account. Hotplates, as they are commonly referred to, are generally used to support cookware dishes on a table or countertop, thus shielding the table or countertop from the heat of the cookware dish. A hotplate generally consists of a piece of insulating material typically having legs extending from a bottom surface spacing the hotplate from the tabletop or countertop. At mealtime, food products may be prepared in the cookware, or casserole, dish, and the casserole dish carried to the table and placed on the hotplate for serving. Since the casserole dish will presumably be hot, the hotplate is necessary to shield the tabletop from the heat associated with the casserole dish. The same is true if the casserole dish is allowed to cool on a countertop for a few minutes prior to serving. Upon the casserole dish, including the prepared food product, being placed on the table, those consuming the meal may take servings sized to their respective appetites. 
     Problems often arisen when a particular food product is prepared at one location and transported to a different location. For instance, consider a food product initially permitted to cool on a countertop prior to serving, such as casseroles, brownies, etc. Since the dish or pan in which the food product was prepared will still be hot, a person must lift the dish or pan using oven mitts, or the like, and transport not only the dish or pan but also the hotplate to the table so that the tabletop is not damaged by the heat of the dish or pan being placed thereupon. This may either require two people, one for the dish or pan and one for the hotplate, or two hotplates, one on the countertop and one on the table. 
     The problem of transporting food products, hot and cold, is particularly prevalent during holidays or other special occasions where there is a large gathering of people. Typically, the various individuals attending the gathering will each prepare a food product, e.g., entree, appetizer, dessert, etc., which must then be transported to the gathering location for consumption by those attending. Conventional hotplates and other carrying devices are inadequate for such transportation since they only provide for vertical support of the food container. If transportation of the food container is by vehicle, the food container will simply slide off conventional hotplates or other conventional carrying devices upon the vehicle making a turn or a sudden start or stop. If there is no lid for the food container, as is typically the case for a pie or cake, or if the lid is on loosely, this may result in considerable mess to the vehicle. 
     An alternative means of transporting a food container by vehicle is for a person to hold the food container, using oven mitts or the like if the container is hot, on his or her lap, or to place the food container on the floor of the vehicle and prevent the food container from lateral movement with his or her feet or hands. This can be considerably burdensome, especially if the distance to be traveled is long. Moreover, holding the food container on the lap of the person may result in injury to the person if the food in the container is hot and spillage results. 
     The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the above-mentioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A holder device is provided for holding containers of different sizes and shapes including, but not limited to, cups, plates, dishes and cookware. The holder device includes a base for supporting containers of different sizes and shapes, the base including at least three slots extending radially from a common center point. At least three pegs are provided which are slidably received, one each, in the at least three slots. Each of the at least three pegs are independently securable against sliding movement in a plurality of positions along the lengths of the at least three slots to accommodate containers of various sizes and shapes. The at least three pegs are laterally engageable with a side periphery of a particular container when the container is supported on the base. Upon engagement with the container side periphery, the at least three pegs are secured from sliding movement to secure the particular container against lateral movement while supported on the base. 
     Each of the at least three pegs, when received in the at least three slots, are independently rotatable between a first position defining a slidingly moveable position and a second position defining a secured position wherein the peg is prevented from sliding movement. In the first position, the at least three pegs may be slidingly moved along the lengths of the slots to engage a side periphery of a container supported on the base. The at least three pegs may then be rotated to the second position to secure the container supported on the base from lateral movement. 
     In one form, the at least three pegs are secured against sliding movement the via frictional forces developed between the at least three pegs and slot slides with the at least three pegs in the second position. 
     In another form, the at least three pegs are independently securable against sliding movement in an infinite number of positions along the lengths of the at least three slots to accommodate containers of various sizes and shapes. 
     In still another form, the at least three slots include T-slots having a wide base region, a narrow neck region, and a pair of shoulder surfaces separating the regions. The at least three pegs include a cooperating T-shaped section having a wide base portion and a narrow neck portion. The wide base portion has a first dimension slightly narrower than the narrow neck region and a second dimension slightly wider than the wide base region. The narrow neck portion is sized to slide in the narrow neck region. With the at least three pegs rotated to the first position, the wide base portion is positioned to pass through the narrow neck region of the T-slot to be received therein. With the at least three pegs received in the T-slots and rotated to the second position, the wide base portion frictionally engages slot sides defining the wide base region securing the at least three pegs against sliding movement. 
     In yet another form, ends of the wide base portion defining the second dimension include a compressible material. With the at least three pegs received in the T-slots and in the second position, the compressible material is compressed by the slot sides defining the wide base region developing frictional forces therebetween to frictionally secure the at least three pegs against sliding movement. 
     In a further form, the wide base portion of the T-shaped section includes a top surface with a compressible material provided thereon, with the second dimension of the wide base portion sized slightly narrower than the wide base region but wider than the narrow neck region. With the at least three pegs received in the T-slots and in the second position, the at least three pegs are secured against sliding movement via frictional forces developed between the pair of shoulder surfaces and the compressible material provided on the top surface of the wide base portion. 
     In still a further form, with the at least three pegs received in the T-slots and in the second position, the at least three pegs are secured against sliding movement via cooperating structures formed on the base and the T-shaped section. The cooperating structures may include, for example, cooperating detents and projections. 
     In yet a further form, the at least three slots do not extend radially from a common center point but rather include a plurality of slots formed in the base, either randomly or in the form of a design, such that containers of different sizes and shapes may be supported on the base and secured against lateral movement. 
     The base preferably is made of a heat insulating material, such as wood, plastic, and the like. 
     In a preferred form, the at least three radially extending slots are spaced equidistantly apart on the base. 
     The base preferably is rectangular in shape and includes handles for carrying the holder with a container securely supported thereon. 
     It is object of the present invention to provide a holder for a casserole dish or other container of food for safe and easy transport of the container of food. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a holder for securely holding in an upright position food containers of different sizes and shapes. 
     It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a holder for securely transporting hot containers of food. 
     Other objects, aspects and advantages of the present invention can be obtained from a study of the specification, the drawings, and the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable container holder according to the present invention with one peg illustrated; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line  2 — 2  in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the adjustable container holder shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the adjustable container holder with an alternate slot configuration; 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a peg including the inventive adjustable container holder; 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line  6 — 6  in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line  7 — 7  in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 8 is a top view of the inventive adjustable container holder utilized with a squareshaped casserole dish; 
     FIG. 9 is a side view of the inventive adjustable container holder utilized with a squareshaped casserole dish; 
     FIG. 10 is a top view of the inventive adjustable container holder utilized with a circular bowl-shaped dish; 
     FIG. 11 is a side view of the inventive adjustable container holder utilized with a circular bowl-shaped dish; 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the bottom portion of the peg included in the adjustable container holder; and 
     FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line  2 — 2  in FIG. 1 illustrating detents formed in the slot surfaces. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-3, an adjustable container holder according to the present invention is shown at  10 . The adjustable container holder  10  includes a base  12  having opposing top  14  and bottom  16  surfaces. Handles  18  are formed at opposing ends of the adjustable container holder  10  for ease of carrying the adjustable container holder  10  with a food container supported thereon. Preferably, the base  12  is rectangular in shape and is made of wood or plastic. However, the base  12  may take any shape and may be made of virtually any type of heat insulating material capable of withstanding heat normally associated with hot food dishes. Legs  19  are provided and extend from the bottom surface  16  of the base  12  spacing the base  12  from a table or countertop providing further heat insulating effects. While the legs  19  are preferably made of rubber, virtually any material may be used therefor. 
     A plurality of slots  20  are formed in the base  12 , with each of the slots  20  extending radially from a common center point. While the adjustable container holder  10  illustrated and described herein depicts six radially extending slots  20  formed in the base  12 , any number of radially extending slots may be formed in the base  12  without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is preferably contemplated that at least three radially extending slots  20  are required to adequately support and secure a container on the base  12 . 
     In an alternate form of the present invention, the slots  20  are not required to extend radially from a common center point. One such configuration is illustrated in FIG.  4 . The adjustable container holder  10 ′ includes a plurality of slots  20  formed in the base  12  which do not extend radially from a common center point, but rather form a design configuration. It should be understood that other slot configurations may be utilized to secure containers of different sizes and shapes supported on the base against lateral movement without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The slots  20  may be formed randomly in the base  12  or formed such that they create a design configuration. Again, it is preferably contemplated that at least three slots  20  are required to adequately support and secure a container on the base  12 . 
     As shown more particularly in FIG. 2, the slots  20  are preferably T-slots opening at both the top  14  and the bottom  16  surfaces. The T-slots  20  each include a narrow neck region  22  defined by slot sides  24  and a wide base region  26  defined by slot sides  28 . A pair of shoulder surfaces  30  extend parallel to the top surface  14  and separate the narrow neck  22  and wide base  26  regions from each other. The T-slots  20  are standard and can be of different widths. Moreover, it is not necessary that the T-slots  20  open at the bottom surface  16 . 
     The adjustable container holder  10  further includes a plurality of pegs  32 , preferably equal in number to the number of slots  20 , removably receivable in the T-slots  20  for guided sliding movement in the T-slots  20 . For convenience, only one peg  32  is shown in FIG.  1  and two pegs  32  are shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIGS. 5-7 illustrate a preferred form of the peg  32 . The peg  32  includes top  34  and bottom  36  portions which are manufactured separately and secured together. The top portion  34  includes a bore  38  formed therein which receives a shaft portion  40  of the bottom portion  36  and are secured together via glue or other conventional means. When glue is used as the securing means, gouges  42  are formed in the shaft portion  40  which accumulate glue and aid in securing the top  34  and bottom  36  portions together. The top  34  and bottom  36  portions are further keyed together for rotation via cooperating flat surfaces  44  and  46  formed in the bore  38  and on the shaft portion  40 , respectively. 
     The top portion  34  includes a container engaging portion  48  and a handle portion  50 . The bottom portion  36  includes a T-shaped section, shown generally at  52 , including a wide base portion  54 , a narrow neck portion  56  and a flange  57  on top of the narrow neck portion  56 . The wide base portion  54  includes a first dimension, shown at  58  in FIG. 7, slightly narrower than the narrow neck region  22  of the T-slots  20 . The wide base portion  54  further includes a second dimension, shown at  60  in FIG. 6, slightly wider than the wide base region  26  of the T-slots  20 . The narrow neck portion  56  is sized to slide in the narrow neck region  22  of the T-slots  20 . With the pegs  32  inserted in the slots  20 , the flange  57  rests on the top surface  14  of the base  12 . 
     The wide base portion  54  includes a top surface  61  having a compressible material  62 , such as a polyethylene plastic or other suitable elastomer, provided thereon and extending to the ends of the wide base portion  54 . The top portion  34  is preferably made of wood or plastic, while the bottom portion  36  is preferably made of a plastic. However, virtually any rigid material may be used for either the top portion  34  or the bottom portion  36  without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, the particular construction of the peg  32  described herein should be considered exemplary only and various other peg configurations and constructions may be implemented without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the container engaging portion  48  and handle portion  50  may take virtually any shape, and, in view of various manufacturing considerations, the pegs  32  may be molded as a unitary member with the entire peg  32 , or select portions thereof, made of a compressible material. Cooperating operation of the pegs  32  with the base  12  will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-3 and  5 - 7 . 
     With the peg  32  rotated about its axis  64  to a first position shown at  66  in FIG. 3, the wide base portion  54  is positioned to pass through the narrow neck region  22  of the T-slot  20 . Upon the wide base portion  54  being received in the T-slot  20 , the flange  57  engages the top surface  14  of the base  12  and the peg  32  is slidingly moveable along the length of the T-slot  20  as shown by arrow  68 . The peg  32  may be moved to a desired position along the length of the T-slot  20  and rotated again about its axis  64  to a second position shown at  70  in FIG.  3 . In this position, the wide base portion  54  frictionally engages the slot sides  28  defining the wide base region  26  thus securing the peg  32  against sliding movement in the T-slot  20 . Further, in the second position  70 , the peg  32  is prevented from being removed from the T-slot  20  via the shoulder surfaces  30  and wide base portion  54 . More specifically, with the peg  32  in the second position  70 , the compressible material  62  engages the slot sides  28  and is compressed thereby. Frictional forces are developed therebetween to frictionally secure the peg  32  against sliding movement in the T-slot  20 . In this manner, the pegs  32  are independently securable against sliding movement in an infinite number of positions along the lengths of the T-slots  20 . 
     It should be understood that various other cooperating peg  32  and slot  20  configurations may be implemented without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the second dimension  60  of the wide base portion  54  may be sized slightly narrower than the wide base region  26  but wider than the narrow neck region  22 . The narrow neck portion  56  and flange  57  are respectively sized and positioned such that with the peg  32  rotated to the second position  70 , the compressible material  62  on the top surface  61  of the wide base portion  54  engages the shoulders  30  and is compressed thereby. Frictional forces are developed therebetween to frictionally secure the peg  32  against sliding movement in the slot  20 . Further, with the second dimension  60  of the wide base portion  54  sized slightly wider than the wide base region  26 , frictional forces may be developed at both the slot sides  28  and shoulders  30  to frictionally secure the peg  32  against sliding movement in the slot  20 . Still further, instead of using a compressible material  62  to frictionally secure the peg  32  against sliding movement, the peg  32  may be secured via cooperating elements formed on the base  12  and T-shaped section  52 . For example, a plurality of detents  90  (see FIGS. 3 and 13) could be formed along the slot  20  on slot sides  24  or  28 , or on the shoulders  30 . With the peg  32  in the second position  70 , these detents  90  would engage cooperating projections  92  (see FIG. 12) formed on the top surface  61  or ends  94  of the wide base portion  54  of the T-shaped section  52  to secure the peg  32  against sliding movement. While the projections  92  have been shown as formed on the wide base portion  54  with the cooperating detents  90  formed along the slot  20 , it should be understood that the projections may be formed along the slot  20  with the cooperating detents formed in the wide base portion  54  without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     Additionally, the slots  20  may be simply conventional slots extending from the top  14  to bottom  16  surfaces instead of T-slots. Using conventional slots  20 , the T-shaped section  52  may be sized such that the peg  32  in the first position  66  is slidingly moveable in the slot  20 . With the peg  32  in the second position  70  the ends of the wide base portion  54  frictionally engage the slot sides, via the compressible material  62  or cooperating detents/projections, to secure the peg  32  against sliding movement. Alternatively, the T-shaped section  52  may be sized such the wide base portion  54  extends through the slot  20  with the peg  32  received therein. In this alternate form, in the first position  66 , the peg  32  is slidingly moveable in the slot  20 . The narrow neck portion  56  and flange  57  are respectively sized and positioned such that with the peg  32  rotated to the second position  70 , the top surface  61  of the wide base portion  54  frictionally engages the bottom surface  16  of the base  12 , via the compressible material  62  or cooperating detents/projections, to secure the peg  32  against sliding movement. 
     It should be understood that the various cooperating peg  32  and slot  20  configurations described herein are for exemplary purposes only, and any combination of the configurations described above, as well as various other configurations, may be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     Due to the independent moveability and lockability of the pegs  32 , virtually any size and shape container may be supported on the base  12  and secured against lateral movement. For example, as shown in FIGS. 8-9, the adjustable container holder  10  may be utilized to support a square-shaped food container such as a casserole dish  72 . The casserole dish  72  is set on the top surface  14  of the base  12 . The pegs  32  are rotated to the first position ( 66  in FIG.  3 ), inserted into the T-slots  20 , and slidably moved along the length of the T-slots  20  until they engage a side periphery  74  of the casserole dish  72 . The pegs  32  are then rotated to the second position ( 70  in FIG. 3) such that their container engaging surfaces  48  rest snug against the side periphery  74  of the casserole dish  72 . The casserole dish  72  may then be moved or transported on the adjustable container holder  10  and is thus prevented from lateral movement thereon via the secured pegs  32 . 
     As previously noted, the adjustable container holder  10  may be utilized with virtually any size and shape container. FIGS. 10-11 illustrate the adjustable container holder  10  utilized in connection with a circular food container such as a bowl-type dish  76 . Similar to that previously described, the bowl  76  is set on the top surface  14  of the base  12 . The pegs  32  are rotated to their first position ( 66  in FIG. 3) and inserted into the T-slots  20 . The pegs  32  are slidingly moved until they engage a side periphery  78  of the bowl  76 . The pegs  32  are rotated to their second position ( 70  in FIG. 3) such that their engaging surfaces  48  rest snugly against the side periphery  78  of the bowl  76 . In this manner, the bowl  76  may be moved or transported on the adjustable container hole  10  and is thus prevented from lateral movement thereon via the secured pegs  32 . 
     While the present invention has been described with particular reference to the drawings, it should be understood that various modifications could be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, while the adjustable container holder  10 , 10 ′ has been described herein relation to the transport of containers of food products, such description has been for exemplary purposes only. The inventive adjustable container holder  10 , 10 ′ may be utilized with any type of container with multitudes of contents, or any article for that matter, for prohibiting lateral movement thereof during transport.