The present disclosure relates to a food holder and in particular to a food holder for holding food or food containers that is constructed to hang from a user's neck for hands free use and ease of access to contents.
A hood often refers to a covering for the head and neck with an opening for the face. Individuals commonly use hoods for protection from various weather conditions, such as wind, snow or rain.
Hoods often form part of a garment, such as a coat or sweatshirt. However, hooded garments are often limiting in that they only allow for comfortable wear in the traditional manner, where the hood is positioned posterior to the user. Most hooded garments are not designed for and would not functionally or structurally accommodate the positioning of the hood in a position anterior to the user.
Similarly, the prior art does not teach or suggest the ability to wear a hooded garment wherein the hood may function as a pouch for holding certain items, such as food, in front of the user. In this regard the present invention satisfies this long-felt need.
The present disclosure relates generally to food holders and in particular to a food holder for holding food or food containers. Advantageously, the device is constructed for hands free use and ease of access to contents. Moreover, the device solves other various problems associated with conventional devices for holding food.
An aspect of the present disclosure is a food holder including a receptacle having an outer surface, an inner surface, a bottom surface, and a top edge defining an opening. A side wall of the inner surface may form a cavity extending downward to a closed floor, wherein a diameter of the opening is larger than the diameter of the bottom surface.
In addition, food holder may include a strap attached to the receptacle. The strap may be attached to the outer surface of the receptacle via a hook and loop fastener, a zipper or snaps. The length of the strap may be between about thirty six inches and about seventy two inches. Moreover, the strap may extend around the outer surface and attach to between about 50% and about 70% of the circumference of the outer surface.
In addition, the strap may include a drawstring passing through a channel of the strap. The drawstring may include toggles configured to adjust the length of the strap.
The inner surface may be made of an insulating material to keep the contents, such as popcorn, of a food container at their desired temperate. The cavity of the inner surface may be adapted to hold a popcorn bucket of various sizes, such as a 24 oz. bucket, a 32 oz. bucket, a 46 oz. bucket, a 64 oz. bucket, an 85 oz. bucket, a 130 oz. bucket, and a 170 oz. bucket.
The food holder may further include a lid. The lid may be fastened to the top edge of the receptacle via a zipper. The lid may further include a handle for lateral movement.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is a garment for use with the food holder. The garment may include a front surface and a back surface. A fastener may be interposed longitudinally between the top end and bottom end of the front surface for opening or closing a slit. The slit may form an internal compartment defined by an interior wall. The internal compartment may retain the food holder, which can be collapsed for positioning within the internal compartment or expanded when removed from the internal compartment.
The garment may further include a hood. The hood may be retrieved the back surface of the garment. In certain embodiments, the hood includes an interior section having liquid conduit for dispensing one or more beverages. Liquid conduit may include an adapter for connecting to one or more beverage containers and a mouthpiece through which a user may consume the one or more beverages.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific exemplary embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and have herein been described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the invention to the particular embodiments disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The present disclosure relates generally to food holders and in particular to a food holder for holding food containers that is constructed to hang from a user's neck. Advantageously, the food holder (also referred to as a popcorn bucket hoodie) facilitates hands free use and ease of access to contents.
Referring now to the drawings,
Food holder 100 may further include a strap 106 attached to receptacle 102. Strap 106 may facilitate hanging food holder 100 from a user's neck or other part of the body. In addition, food holder 100 may be movable between a collapsed form and an expanded form, as detailed below.
As shown in
Receptacle 102 may be constructed from multiple layers of various materials. For example, one or more layers of receptacle 102 may include fabrics, foams, films, fibers, and plastics.
Outer surface 108 of receptacle 102 may be formed of a knit fabric, a woven fabric or a non-woven fabric. The material for the fabric may include fibers of a synthetic material (e.g., windbreaker material) such as nylon, polypropylene, and polyester. Alternatively, the material for the outer surface can be of a natural material (e.g., sweatshirt material) such as cotton, silk or cellulosic materials, or blends of such materials, including blends also containing synthetic fibers or filaments. In addition, the fabric can be waterproof or treated with water repellant.
As shown in
Pocket 116 may include an opening on each side. The opening of pocket 116 may range between about two inches and about six inches, and preferably be between about four inches and five inches. Openings may have a scooped shape such that the bottom of pocket 116 is longer than the top.
Pocket 116 may be sized and adapted to conveniently store and carry small items, such as keys, tickets, money, cell phones, and/or credit cards. In certain embodiments, pocket 116 may further open and close through use of one or more fasteners, such as snaps, buttons, zippers, and elastic bands.
As further shown in
A portion of strap 106 may attach to an area of the outer surface 108 distal from a user when hung around the user's neck. In particular, a portion of strap 106 may attach between about 40% and 80% of the circumference of outer surface 108, preferably between about 50% and about 70% of the circumference of outer surface 108, and even more preferably between about 55% and about 65% of the circumference of outer surface 108. A portion of strap 106 that is not attached to the outer surface 108 may extend in a lateral direction such that a proximal portion of the receptacle 102 may rest against the user's body.
Strap 106 may be sewn onto outer surface 108 using a stitch that is secure, such as a zigzag stitch. While described as stitched, strap 106 and outer surface 108 may be bound by other means, including adhesives, mechanical connections—such as hooks and snaps—or any other suitable attachment means.
The length of strap 106 may range from about thirty six inches to about seventy two inches, and preferably be about forty inches to about sixty inches. In one embodiment, the length of the strap 106 is approximately fifty eight inches. The width of strap 106 may range from about one quarter inch to about three inches, and preferably be about one half inch to about two inches. In one embodiment, the width of the strap 106 is approximately three quarters of an inch.
Strap 106 may further include apertures 118 that lead to a channel 120. Apertures 118 may include stitching or may be surrounded by a small metal ring for reinforcement and to prevent tears in the surrounding materials. Channel 120 is sized and shaped so that a cord or a drawstring 122 can fit inside and slide freely within strap 106.
Drawstring 122 may be made of an elastic material, although other materials are contemplated such as leather, vinyl substitute leather, nylon, velvet, polyurethane fabric, polypropylene fabric, cotton, wool, and silk. The length of drawstring 122 may range between about twenty five inches and about fifty inches, and preferably have a length between about thirty inches and forty inches.
As shown in
Referring back to receptacle 102 of
Cavity 130 may be adapted to hold various sizes and shapes of a popcorn bucket, such as a round or rectangular 24 oz. bucket, a 32 oz. bucket, a 46 oz. bucket, a 64 oz. bucket, an 85 oz. bucket, a 130 oz. bucket, or a 170 oz. bucket.
Cavity 130 may hold a popcorn bucket having a height ranging from about five inches to about ten inches, and preferably having a height between about six inches to about eight inches. Also, cavity 130 may hold a popcorn bucket having a top diameter ranging from about 3 inches to about nine inches, and preferably having a top diameter between about four inches and seven inches. Furthermore, cavity 130 may hold a popcorn bucket having a bottom diameter ranging from about two inches to about seven inches, and preferably having a bottom diameter between about three inches and about six inches.
Sidewall 126 and closed floor 128 of receptacle 102 may be fabricated from or include a reflective and/or an insulating material such as, for example, a rubberized material, neoprene or foam. It should be appreciated that the insulating material helps reduce heat transfer, thereby keeping the contents at their desired temperature for a longer period of time. In addition, the insulating material may hold a food container more securely, as compared to non-insulated material, to prevent the contents from inadvertently falling out of receptacle 102.
As mentioned above, receptacle 102 may further include a top edge 112 defining opening 132 and a flat bottom surface 114. As shown, a diameter of opening 132 may be larger than a diameter of the bottom surface 114, however, other configurations are contemplated. While top edge 112 is shown to have a coupling element, other configurations are contemplated. For example, top edge 112 may be formed of a material, such as the material of outer surface 108, with no coupling elements.
The diameter of opening 132 may range from about three to about ten inches, and preferably be about four inches to about eight inches. In certain embodiments, the diameter of the opening 132 is approximately seven inches.
Opposite opening 132 is a flat bottom surface 114. The diameter of bottom surface may range from about two to about eight inches, and preferably be about three inches to about seven inches. In certain embodiments, the diameter of the bottom surface is approximately six inches.
As shown in
Lid 134 may further include a handle 138. Handle 138 may be centrally positioned and fixedly attached to lid 134. Lid 134 and handle 138 may be made of a material similar to other components of food holder 100. For example, a top surface of lid 134 may be made of a fabric similar to outer surface 108 and a bottom surface of lid 132 may be made of an insulating material similar to inner surface 110 of receptacle 102.
Garment 200 may include a body portion 202 including a front surface 204 and a back surface 206. Both front and back surface 204, 206 include a top end 208, 210 and a bottom end 212, 214.
As shown in
As shown in
As illustrated in
As further shown in
As shown in
As shown, hood 300 may include side sections 302, 304 and an interior section 306. Side section 302, 304 may include fasteners 308 forming an opening 310 to interior section 306. Examples of contemplated fasteners include zippers, hook and loop fasteners, and snaps.
Interior section 306 of hood 300 is constructed to include a beverage dispensing mechanism 312 and container holders 326. Container holder 326 may be constructed of an elastic and/or waterproof material and may be configured to wrap around the sides of a beverage container. In certain embodiments, container holder 326 may be made of an insulating material to keep the beverage at a desired temperate.
Dispensing mechanism may include an adapter 314, a liquid conduit 316, and a mouth piece 318. As shown in
As shown in
In operation, when the valves 324 are open, a user may consume the beverage through mouthpiece 318. Mouthpiece 318 may include a stopper which plugs an opening. In certain embodiments, mouthpiece 318 may include a check valve that requires a small amount of suction to activate. The check valve may prevent an undesired flow of the liquid out of beverage container 320.
Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described in the application are to be taken as examples of embodiments. Components may be substituted for those illustrated and described in the application, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described in the application without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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6092661 | Mogil | Jul 2000 | A |
D432785 | Berg | Oct 2000 | S |
6401993 | Andrino | Jun 2002 | B1 |
20130247271 | Bowen | Sep 2013 | A1 |
20170020215 | Merritt | Jan 2017 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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20201643 | Oct 2002 | DE |
2819700 | Jul 2002 | FR |
Entry |
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DE 20201643 U1 Translation (Year: 2002). |
FR 2819700 A1 Translation, Vigny S, Jul. 2002 (Year: 2002). |
Scanlon, “Set It Up,” Netflix, 2018. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220192350 A1 | Jun 2022 | US |