Patent Application
20130119005
This invention relates to beverage service racks which protect liquid beverages from being spilled when a waitress is accidentally bumped as she is carrying a tray of beverages to a customer's table. More particularly, it relates to beverage service racks which facilitate carrying glasses of beverages securely, are light weight themselves, and can also be used to display beverages and food items from a tree type of support or mounting. The racks of the present invention are easily disassembled and stored by separating a handle portion attached to the underside of the rack from the tray portion.
A variety of food and beverage racks are illustrated in the prior art.
One is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,643,735. That patent describes a cardboard disk which incorporates several holes to rest ice cream cones in. There is a reinforcing rim around the disk's perimeter. A cone purchaser carries them away in the disk and discards it after it has served its purpose.
Another form of rack is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,334,908. A section around the rim of an Ice bucket contains notches for hanging beverage vessels. The ice bucket itself is held in the upright forks on a floor stand.
An ornamental design for the top of a table is shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 279,444. The design combines an upper disk with several circular openings with a lower disk which has matching circular openings. The upper and lower disks are separated by a centrally located spacer, and this assembly is attached to a supporting rod or group of rods joined to the lower disk.
A circular solid tray is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,877 which incorporates several holes holding beverage cups. Legs on the underside of the tray are longer than the extent of the cups and support the tray. A handle for lifting the assembly extends upwardly from the tray.
Another circular plate with holes in it for beverage cups is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,425. A pistol grip handle is attached to the underside of the plate and is located just below one edge of the plate and supports it along one edge. Tabs at the forward ends of arms extending toward the central underside of the plate are locked into slots in the plate.
Still another circular plate for holding beverage cups and bottles is shown in United States Application No. 2002/0027366. Cups formed in the plate accept the beverage holders and bottles. The plate has somewhat D-shaped handles extending out from underneath opposite sides of the plate.
All of these sewers are formed with relatively solid inner plate sheet material which makes them cumbersome to carry and difficult to store. The present invention is directed to alleviating those problems.
The present invention is an open tray for carrying glasses securely and displaying them readily. Concentrically arranged ring members, which may be wire, support several yokes on an outer ring for holding and displaying glasses, and a centrally located ring may be utilized to engage, hold and display a dish of a food item accompanying the glasses. The yokes extend outwardly from the outer ring and grasp the beverage glasses in arm segments. A space between the ends of the arm segments admits stem portions of beverage glasses formed in that manner and the cup portions of the glasses are nested securely in the arms. A straight post handle is joined to the center of the underside of the tray so that a waitress can grasp it immediately beneath the tray and support the tray with a closed hand and forearm while it is being carried.
Referring more particularly to the drawings, the beverage service rack 10 of this invention is shown in perspective completely assembled in
Wire supporting arms 18, 20 and 22 extend outwardly from a washer shaped disk 24 located below the inner ring 16. The disk 24, located substantially concentrically with respect to the rings 16, 14 and 12, forms a hub for the wire arms 18, 20 and 22 which are attached to it and extend radially away from it. The arms 18, 20 and 22 are connected to all three rings. They support rings 12 and 14 at the same level and support the inner ring 16 at a level which is slightly below 12 and 14. Each of the arms includes a depending section formed between angular bends, as at 26 and 28 for arm 20, in order to support the rings at their respective levels. The ring 16 is also supported slightly above disk 24, thus providing a space to accommodate a base portion 40 of a bowl 42 (see
A plurality of wire yokes 30 are mounted on the outer ring 12 and extend outwardly from the concentrically arranged rings 12, 14 and 16. The yokes have arm segments 32 which are configured to receive and support cylindrical beverage holders such as the glass 34 (see
A handle portion 44 of the beverage service rack 10 is affixed to the underside of disk 24. Preferably, the handle portion 44 is a straight post or column as shown in
Another advantage of a columnar form of handle 44 is that it may be used to mount the beverage service rack and display it in a table arrangement (see
The tray portions 10A and the handle portions 44 of the beverage service rack 10 are readily assembled, or disassembled for storage, as shown in
Although particular forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, nevertheless, various modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, no limitation is intended by the foregoing description, and its full breadth is intended to be covered in the following claims.
