Portable Snack Placemat

Abstract

The present invention discloses a portable snack placemat designed to be easily foldable and easy to stow. The portable snack placemat comprises a placemat portion with a lip, molded snack containers with matching lids, and a locking device. The placemat portion further comprises two indentions which allow the snack placemat to fold upon itself while maintaining a narrow base so that the snack placemat can stand upright when in the folded position. The snack placemat further comprises an attachment piece. When the placemat portion is folded along the two indentions, the attachment piece creates a locking mechanism. The snack placemat is now in the folded position and can easily fit in any diaper bag, cooler, or backpack due to its compact and flat size. The portable snack placemat may be made of silicone or another similar synthetic rubber or synthetic plastic polymer with analogous qualities.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of toddler feeding supplies, and, more particularly, to a portable snack placemat.

Description of Related Art

Placemats are practical table accessories designed to protect and decorate dining surfaces. Placemats for children are specialized versions of these table accessories designed to cater to the unique needs and interests of developing children. Placemats for children serve several purposes, including protection, entertainment, education, and hygiene. Placemats protect tables and surfaces from spills, stains, and scratches caused by children's messy eating habits. Many children's placemats are designed with colorful graphics, games, and educational elements to engage and entertain kids during meals. Some placemats are tailored to help children learn and develop essential skills, such as counting, alphabet recognition, or geography. These placemats are typically made from easy-to-clean materials, such as laminated paper or plastic, which can be wiped clean or even placed in the dishwasher.

The history of placemats dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries when they were initially used to protect fine dining tables from heat and stains caused by hot dishes and spills. These early placemats were often made of fabric, such as linen or cotton, and featured decorative designs and intricate embroidery. Placemats for children and toddlers emerged later as a response to the growing understanding of the unique dining needs and preferences of young children. In the mid-20th century, as disposable plastics gained popularity, companies began producing plastic placemats with colorful designs specifically targeted at children. These placemats were easy to clean and less likely to get damaged by spills. During the 1970s and 1980s, educational placemats became more prevalent. These featured activities like mazes, word games, and math problems to keep children entertained and engaged while promoting learning. Into the late 20th century, with the advent of digital printing technology, the design possibilities for children's placemats expanded. They began to incorporate popular cartoon characters, superheroes, and other familiar figures to make mealtime more enjoyable for kids. In recent years, there has been an emphasis on eco-friendly and sustainable materials for children's placemats, such as silicone or bamboo. These materials are not only safe but also more environmentally friendly.

Despite these advances, there remains a present need for a portable snack placemat that is foldable and easy to stow.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A portable snack placemat embodying the principles of the invention is designed to be easily foldable and easy to stow. The portable snack placemat comprises a placemat portion with a lip, molded snack containers with matching lids, and a locking device. The placemat portion can be, for example, circular-like in shape and comprises an inside face and an outside face. Other placemat shapes, including but not limited to oval, square, and rectangular, are contemplated and within the scope of this disclosure. The placemat portion comprises a convenient lip along the perimeter of the inside face of the placemat portion to catch crumbs and spills. The placemat itself serves as a hygienic eating surface. The placemat portion further comprises two indentions across the diameter of the placemat portion, which partitions the inside face of the placemat portion into a top area and a bottom area. The two indentions allow the snack placemat to fold evenly upon itself while maintaining a narrow base so that the snack placemat can stand upright when in the folded position. Up to three molded snack containers are attached to the top area of the inside face of the snack placemat. The molded snack containers can be, for example, triangular shaped, although other shapes are contemplated and within the scope of this disclosure. The bottom area of the inside face of the snack placemat can serve as a plate when in the unfolded position. The molded snack containers comprise matching lids to enclose any food therein and allow for compact and convenient food storage. The matching lids can double as small feeding plates when detached from the molded snack containers. The portable snack placemat apparatus further comprises a locking device or an attachment piece that allows easy and secure locking when the mat is folded in the close position and easy release when in use. A male portion of the attachment piece is positioned at the head of the top area of the placemat portion, while a corresponding female portion of the attachment piece is position at the bottom of the bottom area of the placemat portion. The alternative positioning of the male and female portions is contemplated and within the scope of this disclosure. In this regard, the attachment piece is positioned perpendicular to the two indentions of the placemat portion. When the placemat portion is folded along the two indentions, the male portion and female portion of the attachment piece are easily connected so as to create a locking mechanism. The snack placemat is now in the folded position and can easily fit in any diaper bag, cooler, or backpack due to its compact and flat size. The portable snack placemat may be made of silicone or another similar synthetic rubber or synthetic plastic polymer with analogous qualities. Further, the portable snack placemat may be dishwasher and microwave safe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable snack placemat in the folded position embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a portable snack placemat in the folded position embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a portable snack placemat in the unfolded position with snack container lids embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a portable snack placemat in the unfolded position with one snack container lid removed embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a portable snack placemat in the unfolded position with no snack container lids embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is bottom view of a portable snack placemat in the unfolded position embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of a portable snack placemat in the folded position embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view of a portable snack placemat in the unfolded position embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a zoomed in view of a portable snack placemat in the unfolded position embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a zoomed in view of an unlocked attachment piece of a portable snack placemat embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a zoomed in view of a locked attachment piece of a portable snack placemat embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an exemplary view of a portable snack placemat in the folder position stowed in a backpack and embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an exemplary view of a portable snack placemat in the unfolded position with food shown and embodying the principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 13 is another exemplary view of a portable snack placemat in the unfolded position with food shown and embodying the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To promote an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, which are described herein. The embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the invention to the precise form disclosed. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize their teachings. Therefore, no limitation of the scope of the claimed invention is thereby intended. The present invention includes any alterations and further modifications of the illustrated devices and described methods and further applications of principles in the invention which would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

FIGS. 1-2 depict a portable snack placemat 10 in the folded position embodying the principles of the present invention. The portable snack placemat 10 is easily foldable upon itself and easy to stow. The portable snack placemat 10 has two configurations: folded and unfolded. The folded configuration is designed to compactly store food for transportation, while the unfolded configuration is designed to provide a hygienic eating surface while traveling or on-the-go. The portable snack placemat 10 comprises a placemat portion 11 with a lip 12, up to three molded snack containers 13 with matching lids 14, and an attachment piece 15.

FIGS. 3-5 depict a portable snack placemat 10 in the unfolded position embodying the principles of the present invention. The placemat portion 11 can generally be circular-like in shape, although other shapes are within the scope of this disclosure. Such shapes include a more oval, square, or rectangular shape, along with irregular shapes resembling the head or face of an animal, or some combination of the two. For example, the placemat portion 11 disclosed in the present embodiment resembles a bear head and is circular-like in shape. The placemat portion 11 comprises an inside face 16 and an outside face 17. The placemat portion 11 comprises a convenient lip 12 along the perimeter of the inside face 16 of the placemat portion 11 to catch crumbs and spills.

The placemat portion 11 further comprises two indentions 18 across the diameter of the placemat portion 11, which partitions the inside face 16 of the placemat portion 11 into a top area 19 and a bottom area 20. The two indentions allow the mat to fold upon itself evenly and compactly. As seen in FIG. 6, the two indentions 18 are also on the outside face 17 of the placemat portion 11. As seen in FIG. 7, the two indentions 18 allow the placemat portion 11 to fold upon itself while maintaining a narrow base so that the snack placemat 10 can stand upright when in the folded position. A close up view of the two indentions 18 along the inside face 16 and the outside face 17 of the placemat portion 11 can be seen in FIG. 8.

The placemat comprises at least one molded snack container 13 that allows for compact and convenient food storage. As best shown in FIGS. 3-5, in this specific example, up to three molded snack containers 13 can be attached to the top area 19 of the inside face 16 of the placemat portion 11. The molded snack containers 13 can be triangular shaped, although other shapes are contemplated and within the scope of this disclosure. In another embodiment, for example, more than three molded snack containers can be utilized. In another embodiment, for example, only one molded snack container in the shape of a semicircle can be attached. Similarly, the molded snack container can have internal dividing walls to partition different foods. In this specific example, the three molded snack containers 13 comprise matching lids 14 to enclose any food therein. The matching lids 14 are designed to create a tight seal with the molded snack containers 13 so as to prevent any spillage of food during transportation. The number of molded lids ideally matches the number of molded snack containers. For example, in another embodiment with only one molded snack container, only one matching lid is needed. As shown in FIG. 12, the matching lids 14 can double as small plates when detached from the molded snack containers 13. As shown in FIG. 13, the bottom area 20 of the inside face 16 of the placemat portion 11 can serve as a plate when in the unfolded position.

FIGS. 9-10 depict an attachment piece 15 that acts like a locking mechanism to easily secure the mat in the folded state. The attachment piece 15 can take many forms, including but not limited to, for example, a locking button, a snap-lock, a string attachment, or Velcro. In a preferred embodiment, for example, the attachment piece 15 comprises a male portion 24 and a female portion 25 that resembles a button and a hole, respectively. In this example, the male portion 24 is positioned at the head of the top area 19 of the placemat portion 11, while a corresponding female portion 24 is positioned at the foot of the bottom area 20 of the placemat portion 11. In this regard, the male portion 24 and the female portion 25 of the attachment piece 15 are positioned perpendicular to the two indentions 18 of the placemat portion 11. When the placemat portion 11 is folded along the two indentions 18, the male portion 24 and female portion 25 of the attachment piece 15 are connected so as to create a secure locking mechanism. The snack placemat 10 is now in the folded position and can easily fit in any diaper bag, cooler, or backpack due to its compact and flat size, as depicted in FIG. 11. When transitioning from the folded to unfolded state, the attachment piece is designed to release easily without the application of significant force. Further, the portable snack placemat 11 may be made of silicone or another similar synthetic rubber or synthetic plastic polymer with analogous qualities. Further, the portable snack placemat may be dishwasher and microwave safe.

Claims

1. A portable placemat, comprising: a mat portion with a lip along a perimeter of the mat portion, wherein the lip is configured to prevent food spillage when the mat portion is in an unfolded configuration;at least one food container attached to said mat portion of said food container, wherein the at least one food container comprises a lid; andan attachment piece configured to bind the mat portion in a folded configuration;wherein the mat portion further comprises two indentions across a diameter of the mat portion configured to enable bi-folding of the mat portion into the folded configuration.

2. The portable placemat of claim 1, wherein the unfolded configuration provides a mobile eating surface and wherein the folded configuration compactly stores food for travel.

3. The portable placemat of claim 1, wherein the mat portion further comprises an inside face and an outside face and wherein the two indentions further partition the inside face into a top area and a bottom area.

4. The portable placemat of claim 1, wherein the at least one food container is attached to a top area of the mat portion and wherein a bottom area serves as an eating surface when in the unfolded configuration.

5. The portable placemat of claim 1, further configured to stand upright when in the folded configuration.

6. The portable placemat of claim 1, wherein the at least one food container is triangular in shape.

7. The portable placemat of claim 1, wherein the at least one food container further comprises internal dividing walls to partition different foods.

8. The portable placemat of claim 1, wherein the lid is further configured to act as a small plate when detached from the food container.

9. The portable placemat of claim 1, wherein the attachment piece is one of a locking button, a snap-lock, a string attachment, or Velcro.

10. A portable food mat, comprising: a placemat with two folding indentions configured to enable bi-folding into a storage configuration;at least one molded snack container attached to one side of the placemat configured to store food; andan attachment piece comprising a male portion and a female portion;wherein the placemat is further configured to stand upright when in the storage configuration.

11. The portable food mat of claim 10, wherein the placemat further comprises a pronounced lip along a perimeter configured to retain food spillage when in a feeding configuration.

12. The portable food mat of claim 10, wherein the at least one molded snack container further comprises at least one matching lid.

13. The portable food mat of claim 10, wherein the attachment piece is configured to bind the placemat in the storage configuration.

14. The portable food mat of claim 10, wherein the male portion is positioned at a first end of the placemat and the female portion is positioned at an opposite second end of the placemat.

15. The portable food mat of claim 10, wherein the two folding indentions further partition the placemat into a top area and a bottom area.

16. The portable food mat of claim 10, wherein the at least one molded snack container is attached to a top area of the placemat and wherein a bottom area of the placemat serves as an eating surface when in a feeding configuration.

17. The portable food mat of claim 10, wherein the at least one molded snack container is triangular in shape.

18. The portable food mat of claim 10, wherein the at least one molded snack container further comprises internal dividing walls to partition different foods.

19. The portable placemat of claim 10, wherein a matching lid is further configured to act as a small plate when detached from the molded snack container.

20. The portable placemat of claim 10, wherein a feeding configuration provides a mobile eating surface and wherein the storage configuration compactly stores food for travel.