PLATEAU DE FETE

PARTY TRAY

Abrégé anglais

A party tray for holding refreshments comprises a panel with an axis, a
periphery and a
thumbhole through the panel adjacent to the panel periphery and substantially
along the axis. The
user's thumb of either hand is directed through the thumbhole toward the panel
periphery and the
panel extends laterally on either side of the user's forearm. The panel may be
an elongated ellipse
wherein the axis is the major axis of the ellipse. Further, the panel may
include a plurality of
compartments configured to hold such things as eating utensils, beverage
containers and food.

Revendications

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The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive
property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A party tray for carrying refreshments, comprising:
a panel for refreshments, the panel having an axis and a periphery with a
thumbhole
through the panel substantially on the axis adjacent to the panel periphery
and directed along the
axis to receive a thumb of either hand of a user, with the thumb directed
toward the panel
periphery and the panel resting on and extending laterally on either side of
the user's forearm,
said panel defining a recess extending along said axis from said thumbhole,
for receiving
said thumb, said recess including walls disposed on opposite sides of said
axis and extending
substantially parallel to said axis,
said walls providing a bearing surface for said thumb to resist rotation of
said party tray
about said thumbhole.
2. The party tray of claim 1 wherein the panel is elongated.
3. The party tray of claim 1 wherein the axis is the panel's major axis.
4. The party tray of claim 1 wherein the panel is substantially elliptical,
and the axis
is the major axis of the elliptic.
5. The party tray of claim 1 wherein the panel includes a plurality of
compartments.
6. The party tray of claim 5 wherein at least one of said compartments is
configured
to receive eating utensils.
7. The party tray of claim 5 wherein at least one of said compartments is
configured
to retain a bottom portion of a beverage container by a friction fit.

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8. The party tray of claim 7 wherein said compartment that is configured to
releasably
hold a beverage container is adjacent to the thumbhole.
9. The party tray of claim 5 wherein said compartments are configured to
retain
liquids.
10. The party tray of claim 5 wherein said compartments are configured to keep
food
away from the user's thumb.
11. The party tray of claim 5 wherein the periphery of the panel on the axis
adjacent
the thumbhole affords a gripping surface for one or more of the user's finger.
12. The party tray of claim 11 wherein the gripping surface is concave.
13. The party tray of claim 1 wherein the periphery and compartments have U-
shaped
walls configured so that a plurality of the party trays are stackable in a
nested relationship.
14. The party tray of claim 1 wherein said panel comprises plastic.
15. The party tray of claim 5 wherein said panel comprises formed plastic.
16. The party tray of claim 5 wherein said panel comprises formed cardboard.
17. The party tray of claim 5 wherein the compartments are substantially
equally
arranged on either side of the axis.

18. The party tray of claim 5 wherein the compartments are partially separated
by walls
extending substantially parallel to the axis, to thereby provide stiffening of
the party tray in an axial
direction.
19. The party tray of claim 18 wherein the compartments are partially
separated by
walls extending substantially perpendicular to the axis, to thereby provide
stiffening of the party
tray in a direction transverse to the axis.
20. The party tray of claim 5 wherein the compartments are partially separated
by walls
extending substantially perpendicular to the axis, to thereby provide
stiffening of the party tray in
a direction transverse to the axis.

Description

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PARTY TRAY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a party tray that the user can hold in either hand.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Food and beverages are served at most social gatherings. However, it is
frequently
difficult for a guest to juggle his food and beverage, especially while
standing. Generally, one or
more items have to be placed on a flat surface in order to free one hand or
the other for eating.
At many social gatherings flat surfaces can be hard to come by. Therefore,
there is a need for a
party tray that can easily be held in one of the user's hands while the user
is eating with the other
hand.
Prior art plates and trays that attempt to alleviate this problem generally
include a hole for
the user's thumb that allows the user to grip the tray or plate in some
fashion. However, most of
the prior art trays require that the user's fingers support the weight of
everything on the tray,
including a beverage container. Additionally, some of the prior art trays
cannot be set down
without first removing beverage containers and/or other items. Furthermore,
most of these trays
are difficult to eat from because the pressure of a fork or knife on the tray
must be supported by
the fingers, which may be awkward to balance and not provide enough support.
One party plate that attempts to alleviate such awkward balancing and support
is described
in U.S. Patent No. 5,323,910 to van de Graaf, Jr. which issued June 28, 1994.
This party plate
includes a typical thumbhole in a corner of the plate, but is configured to be
supported by the
user's forearm. However, the relationship of the thumbhole to the rest of the
tray requires that this
plate be held solely in the user's left hand.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A party tray that can be held in either hand comprises a panel for holding
refreshments,
wherein the panel has an axis and a periphery with a thumbhole through the
panel adjacent to the
panel periphery and substantially along the axis. The thumb of either of the
user's hands is directed
through the thumbhole toward the panel periphery as the panel rests on and
extends laterally on

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both sides of the user's forearm. The panel may be elliptical wherein the axis
is the major axis of
the ellipse. The panel may also include a plurality of compartments configured
to hold food,
eating utensils and a beverage container. The compartments have walls to
segregate different
items and to keep food away from the user's thumb. The party tray includes a
concave gripping
surface for the user's fingers. This party tray is further configured to lie
substantially flat on a flat
surface and to nest when empty. The party tray may be made of formed plastic
or formed
cardboard.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more complete understanding of this invention may be obtained from
consideration of
the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a top view of a party tray holding utensils, food and beverage
items;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the party tray of Fig. 1 on the left arm of a
user;
Fig. 3 is a semi cut-away perspective view of the party tray of Fig. 1 showing
the user
holding the tray with the right hand with the party tray on the right arm; and
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the party tray of Fig. 1 taken along the
line 4-4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
An elliptical party tray that has a thumbhole substantially on a major axis
adjacent to a
periphery provides the user with a convenient holder for food, a beverage
container and eating
utensils. The party tray rests on the user's forearm to provide support to the
tray so that the user's
hand is not the sole means of support and the user can use implements such as
a fork without
tipping the tray. The party tray is divided into a plurality of compartments
to keep food
segregated and may include a compartment for utensils so that the user can use
the utensils one
at a time.
The party tray illustrated in Fig. 1 is a panel 10 with a major axis 12 and a
periphery 14.
The party tray includes a thumbhole 16 and thumb print pad 18 in a recess 15
having a wall 17 for
the user's thumb 19 (Figs. 2 and 3) along the axis 12 and adjacent to the
periphery 14. Panel 10
is generally elliptical with the axis 12 being the major axis ofthe elliptic.
Panel 10 is formed in one

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piece of plastic but may be formed in many other shapes and materials (such as
ceramic or wood)
without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
Panel 10 has a plurality of compartments, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28, defined by
walls 30, 32,
34, 36 and 38, respectively. The compartments 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 are
substantially equally
arranged on either side of the axis 12 so that the panel 10 is balanced on the
user's forearm 39.
Each of the compartments 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 may contain utensils, food,
food containers or
beverage containers. In this exemplary embodiment, an outline of a beverage
container 40, which
may be the bottom of a cup or a can, is shown in compartment 20. The size of
compartment 20
may be selected so that there is a friction fit between the compartment 20 and
the bottom of the
beverage container 40. Of course, the beverage compartment 20 may also be
round.
Panel 10 is illustrated in Fig. 1 as having compartments 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28
to hold an
entire meal. Compartment 22 is illustrated holding a salad. This shows the
advantages of the
compartment 22 and wall 32 because the salad dressing cannot mix with the
other foods or run
onto the user's thumb. Compartment 24 is illustrated as holding french fries.
Compartment 26
is illustrated holding an entree. Compartment 28 is used in this exemplary
embodiment to hold
eating utensils such as knife 42, spoon 44, and fork 46. Alternatively,
compartment 28 may be of
a size and shape that would facilitate holding implements such as chopsticks
48. In this manner,
the eating utensils are handy for the user and may be exchanged rapidly
without having to handle
more than one at a time or leaving the utensils in the food compartments. Of
course, the
configuration of compartments may be varied to suit specific needs. It is
advantageous that the
panel 10 is arranged to extend laterally on both sides of the forearm 39 and
that the compartment
20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 are arranged to balance on the forearm.
The periphery 14 of panel 10 includes a concave gripping surface 50 for the
user's
forefinger 52 or forefinger 52 and center finger 54 (Fig. 2). This gripping
surface 50 permits the
user to hold the panel 10 comfortably on the forearm 39 and provides a firm
grip when the panel
10 is fully loaded.

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Turning now to Fig. 2, a perspective view of a party tray comprising panel 10
is shown.
In this view, the relationship of the party tray's major axis 12 to the user's
thumb 19 and forgers
52 and 54 is shown. The user's thumb 19 extends along the major axis 12 within
the recess 15 and
points toward the periphery 14 of the tray. Further, the major axis 12 extends
over the user's
forearm 39. In this manner, the user may easily support and balance the panel
10.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of panel 10 being held in the user's right hand
56. In this
drawing, the user's right thumb 19 passes through thumbhole 16 and extends
within the recess 15
along the major axis 12 of panel 10. The majority of the body of panel 10
rests on the user's arm.
This illustration shows that the user may use the party tray of this invention
in either hand.
Turning now to Fig. 4, a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1
is shown. Fig.
4 illustrates that thumbhole 16 is generally proximate to the periphery 14 of
the panel 10. The
periphery 14 includes a peripheral wall 58 which in the embodiment of Fig. l,
preferably forms
wall 17 of the recess 15. The peripheral wall 58 and compartment walls 36 are
generally U-shaped
with a slight flair at the open end of the U. U-shaped walls 58 and 36 enable
several panels 10 to
nest for easy storage. Panel 10 also includes a bottom peripheral flange 60
that is planar. Thus,
panel 10 rests substantially flat when placed on a flat surface without having
to remove the
beverage container or other objects from the party tray.
It will therefore be understood that this party tray has a major axis and a
thumbhole along
the major axis near a periphery of the party tray. A user inserts either thumb
through the
thumbhole toward the periphery and balances the tray on his forearm. Thus, the
party tray is
balanced and well supported and may be used when the user is standing or
seated, or used when
flat on a surface as a sectioned plate.
It is to be understood that the above-described embodiment is to illustrate
the principles
of the invention, and that those skilled in the art may devise many variations
without departing
from the scope of the invention. It is, therefore, intended that such
variations be included within
the scope of the appended claims.

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