Holder for Dipping Sauce Container

Abstract

A holder has a perimeter frame that extends to a finger grip portion. The finger grip portion has at least one loop for receiving a user's fingers therethrough. The frame of the holder has an inner diameter that is larger than a diameter of a main body of a dipping sauce container, and smaller than a diameter of an upper rim, such that the upper rim abuts the frame when the main body is passed therethrough, so that the container is supported by the frame. The perimeter frame and the grip portion of the holder are constructed of a rigid material for supporting the weight of the dipping sauce container.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to holding devices for containers, and more particularly to a handheld device for holding a dipping sauce container.

Description of Related Art

The majority of those who purchase fast food consume those meals in their vehicles while in transit, or in the case of a food truck or event, the meal or snack may be consumed while walking, etc. Fast food venues, malls, and amusement parks may provide a variety of dipping sauces such as barbeque sauce, liquid cheese, etc., that can be paired with chicken nuggets, apple slices, fries, pretzels/pretzel bites, etc. Using a dipping container normally requires two hands, one holding the sauce container and the other holding a food item. However, a consumer on the go may need to perform functions such as driving, exchanging money, tying a shoe, etc. As such, he or she would desire a degree of freedom to use his or her hands while eating, one solution being in the form of a holder for the dipping sauce container.

Holders for dipping sauce containers in the prior art generally require the attachment of the holder to a particular surface such as a table or dashboard of a vehicle (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,119). The prior art also has many examples of holders being integrally formed inside of a food container or other structure (e.g., US20040200850). However, the prior art does not include handheld devices for holding dipping sauce containers, which is particularly useful in fast food restaurants, and similar environments when a user is on the go. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further advantages as described in the following summary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.

The present invention provides a holder for a dipping sauce container having a main body and an upper rim. The holder comprises a perimeter frame that extends to a finger grip portion, the finger grip portion having at least one loop for receiving a user's fingers therethrough. The frame of the holder has an inner diameter that is larger than a diameter of the main body of the dipping sauce container, and smaller than a diameter of the upper rim, such that the upper rim abuts the frame when the main body is passed therethrough, so that the container is supported by the frame. The perimeter frame and the grip portion of the holder are constructed of a rigid material for supporting the weight of the dipping sauce container.

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a holder for a dipping sauce container having advantages not taught by the prior art.

Another objective is to provide a holder for a dipping sauce container which allows a user's hands to be relatively free while using the invention.

A farther objective is to provide a holder for a dipping sauce container which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use.

Other features and advantages of the present, invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a holder for a dipping sauce container according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the use of the holder; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the holder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The above-described drawing figures illustrate the invention, a holder 10 adapted to receive a dipping sauce container 12, and may be easily supported using only a person's fingers, so that his or her hands remain relatively free to perform other tasks, such as hold a food/drink item. The present invention may be particularly useful in a restaurant or fast-food environment, or any other environment where dipping sauce may be used (e.g., in the home, at an event, etc.).

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the holder 10 for the dipping sauce container 12 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The holder 10 has a perimeter frame 20 and a finger grip portion 22 extending outwardly from the perimeter frame 20. The perimeter frame 20 includes an inner diameter which is spaced apart from an outer diameter, as described in greater detail below. In this embodiment, the perimeter frame 20 is adapted for surrounding and supporting the container 12. In this embodiment, the frame 20 is generally rectangular in shape, having corners which angle at about 90 degrees. However, m other embodiments, the frame 20 may be any shape which can receive any given dipping sauce container, including but not limited to such as is shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4, and described below.

In this embodiment, the dipping sauce container 12 has a main body 14 that extends upwardly to an upper rim 16 which forms an opening for accessing the sauce stored in the main body 14. In this embodiment, the dipping sauce container 12 is in a similar rectangular shape as the perimeter frame 20, being a common shape for various types of condiments, and being widely used throughout different franchises and geographical locations. However, the dipping sauce 12 as used with the present application may be any type of container known in the art, such as a container shaped like a circle, wedge, tube, etc. The container 12 may include any type of condiment or consumable.

As shown in FIG. 1, the finger grip portion 22 has at least one loop for receiving a user's fingers therethrough, as shown in FIG. 3 and described below. The frame 20 of the holder 10 has the inner diameter, which is larger than a diameter of the main body 14 of the dipping sauce container 12, and smaller than a diameter of the upper rim 16.

For purposes of this application, the term “diameter” refers generally to the distance from one side of the perimeter frame to the opposing side, and will vary depending upon the particular shape of the frame. For example, in a round embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the diameter is the length of a line that passes through the center and whose endpoints lie on the circle. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the diameter may be derived from the shared hypotenuse of the two triangles formed by the rectangular frame 20, using Pythagoras' Theorum D=√(a²+b²). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1. √(W3²+L3²)>√(W1²+L1²)>√(W2²+L2²). In this embodiment, the frame 20 is in the form, of a rectangle, but in other embodiments, the frame 20 may be any shape associated with related containers, and the diameter is such that the container rests on the perimeter of the holder, as illustrated and described herein.

FIG. 2 is perspective view of the holder for dipping sauce container 10, showing the sauce container 12 installed within the holder 10. As shown in FIG. 2, in this assembled configuration, the upper rim 16 of the dipping sauce container 12 abuts the frame 20 when the main body 14 is passed therethrough, so that the container 12 is supported by the frame 20.

In this embodiment, the grip portion 22 comprises a pair of loops 24 for receiving a user's fingers therethrough. However, in other embodiments, the grip portion 22 may have a greater or fewer number of loops, as demonstrated in FIG. 4. For the purposes of this application, “loop” is hereby defined to mean any elongate material which may curve around a finger but may not necessarily connect back to itself. For example, the grip portion 22 may be generally hook-like, or be “C” shaped, as long as the grip portion 22 can be securely held by a user's fingers.

FIG. 3 shows a user's fingers threaded through the pair of loops 24, thereby securely holding the dipping sauce container 12. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a top surface 26 of the grip portion 22 may be generally flat, such that a user may stabilize the holder 10 using his or her thumb. In this embodiment, the perimeter frame 20 of the holder 10 is integrally formed with the grip portion 22, and constructed of a rigid material for supporting the weight of the dipping sauce container 12, such as plastic, acrylic, metal, etc. However, in other embodiments, the perimeter frame 20 may include different materials than the grip portion 22, in any combination deemed suitable by those skilled in the art.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the holder for dipping sauce container 30. In this embodiment, a perimeter frame 32 is generally circular, adapted to receive an analogously-shaped dipping sauce container (not shown) having a main body and an upper rim. As in the previous embodiment, an inner diameter of the perimeter frame 32 is larger than a diameter of the main body of the dipping sauce container, and smaller than a diameter of the upper rim. In this embodiment, “diameter” (D) is derived from doubling the radius of the inner perimeter frame 32.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, a grip portion 34 of the holder 30 comprises a single elongate loop, through which a user may thread one or more fingers. As described above, the grip portions 22 and 34 may include any number of loops or partial-loops, as long as it can provide support to the perimeter frame 20 of the holder 10.

The ability to stabilize the dipping sauce container 12 using the holder 10 provides a solution to common problems with lightweight containers, such as the container 12 sliding around on a table or lifting off of the table along with a food item.

The holder for dipping sauce container 10 may also be useful in situations which require the use of both hands. For example, a person who may not have a table or other suitable surface may hold both a food container and the holder 10 in one hand, and dip the food item in the dipping sauce 12 with the other hand. Alternatively, the user may use the grip portion 22 of the holder 10 to hang or otherwise secure the holder 10 onto an object such as a side wall of a food container, or any other item on which the holder 10 may be mounted.

As used in this application, the words “a,” “an,” and “one” are defined to include one or more of the referenced item unless specifically stated otherwise. The terms “approximately” and “about” are defined to mean+/−10%, unless otherwise stated. Also, the terms “have,” “include,” “contain,” and similar terms are defined to mean “comprising” unless specifically stated otherwise. Furthermore, the terminology used in the specification provided above is hereby defined to include similar and/or equivalent terms, and/or alternative embodiments that would be considered obvious to one skilled in the art given the teachings of the present patent application. While the invention has been described with reference to at least one particular embodiment, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments, but rather the scope of the invention is defined by claims made to the invention.

Claims

1. A holder for a dipping sauce container having a main body and an upper rim, the holder comprising: a perimeter frame that extends to a finger grip portion, the finger grip portion having at least one loop;wherein the frame has an inner diameter that is larger than a diameter of the main body of the dipping sauce container, and smaller than a diameter of the upper rim, such that the upper rim abuts the frame when the main body is passed therethrough, so that the container is supported by the frame; andwherein the perimeter frame and the grip portion of the holder are constructed of a rigid material for supporting the weight of the dipping sauce container.

2. The holder of claim 1, wherein a top surface of the grip portion is generally flat and adapted for a user's thumb to stabilize the holder in his or her hand.

3. The holder of claim 1, wherein the at least one loop of the finger grip portion is sized and shaped to be adapted for receiving a user's fingers therethrough.

4. The holder of claim 3, wherein the at least one loop includes a pair of loops adjacent one another.