US20070102432A1

US20070102432A1 - Condiment Holding Device

Info

Publication number: US20070102432A1
Application number: US11/459,991
Authority: US
Inventors: G. Keller
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-11-09
Filing date: 2006-07-26
Publication date: 2007-05-10

Abstract

A condiment holding device including a container for holding a condiment including a top and a bottom, wherein the top is substantially hollow. A lid removably affixed to the top of the container. An adhesive device secured to the bottom of the container, wherein the adhesive device includes a removable cover. The removable cover allows access to the adhesive to removably secure the bottom of the container to a surface.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

The present application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/734,898 entitled “Condiment Holding Device.” filed on Nov. 9, 2005 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to the field of condiment holding devices, and more particularly to a condiment holding device that may be removably affixed to a surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Billions of people world wide eat at fast food restaurants and other restaurants demanding food on the go. People eat the food in many different locations including in automobiles, airplanes and numerous other locations. A common and extremely popular food purchased from fast food restaurants are french fries. A large number of people ordering french fries enjoy dipping them in ketchup, When ordering french fries to go, the user is given numerous packets of ketchup. To use the ketchup, the user must tear open the packet and squirt the ketchup onto a cleanable or disposable surface, typically a wrapper or container obtained from the restaurant. The use of ketchup in this manner, especially when used in an automobile while driving, is inconvenient, messy, and potentially dangerous while driving. Similar to french fries, restaurants offer many other food products that are popularly dipped into condiments by users including chicken and fish tenders.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a device that can hold a condiment but be conveniently accessible, self-contained, and securable to reduce the risk of spillage and safer to use while driving.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a view of a condiment holding device according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a view of a lid secured to a surface in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view of a bottom of a condiment holding device including a removeable adhesive according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a view of a lid removably affixed to a top of a condiment holding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a view of a condiment holding device including a plurality of compartments according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which an exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, this embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a condiment holding device 100 of the invention. The condiment holding device 100 may include a container 110 for holding at least one condiment. The container 110 is operable to hold the condiment and be removably secured to a surface 210 to allow a user to conveniently access the condiment without spillage. Condiments may include ketchup, mustards, mayonnaise, salsa, cheese, barbeque sauce, dressing, or any other sauce or dressing. The container 110 may be any shape capable of holding the condiment. The container 110 may be made of any suitable material including but not limited to a light weight vacuum molded plastic.
In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the container 110 may be substantially conical in shape. The container 110 also may be substantially pyramidal, rectangular, square, or any other shape. The container 110 includes a top 120 and a bottom 130. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the top 120 and the bottom 130 may be substantially circular in shape. It should also be understand that the top 120 and the bottom 130 may be shaped correspondingly with the shape of the container 110. The top 120 and the bottom 130 may have a substantially circular, rectangular, square, or any other shape. In an exemplary embodiment, the bottom 130 of the container 110 may have a diameter greater than the diameter of the top 120 of the container 110 to increase stability of the container 110, It should be understood that the bottom 130 also may be the same size or smaller than the top 120. The bottom 130 must be of sufficient size to allow the container 110 to rest stably upon the surface 210. The bottom 130 may include an outer ring to provide more stability to the container 110. The top 120 of the container 110 may be substantially hollow for holding the condiment.
As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 2, the bottom 130 of the container 110 interfaces a surface 210 upon which the container 110 rests. The surface 210 may be any location in which the container 110 may be removably affixed. In the exemplary embodiment, the surface 210 is a vehicle console. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the surface 210 may include any surface in a vehicle including an arm rest, seat, dash board, console, or any other substantially horizontal location. The surface may further include any other horizontal location such as a table or countertop.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, adhesive 150 may be affixed to the undercarriage of the bottom 130 of the container 110 to allow the container to be removably affixed to the surface 210. The adhesive 150 may be any adhesive that is strong enough to secure the container 110 to the surface 210 but not too strong as to prevent the container 110 from being easily removed from the surface 210. The adhesive 150 may be chosen so as to not leave a residue on the surface 210. The adhesive 150 may include a removable cover 160. The removable cover 160 preserves the adhesive 150 while the container 110 is not in use. When the condiment holding device 100 is to be used, the removable cover 160 may be removed leaving the adhesive 150 available to secure the container 110 to the surface 210. The removable cover 160 may be removed through peeling or any other action.
The container 110 is filled with the condiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4, a lid 170 is removably affixed to the top 120 of the container 110. The lid 170 may be any lid known in the art including a peelable aluminum lid or plastic lid. The lid 170 may remain affixed to the top 120 of the container 110 until the condiment holding device 100 is ready for use.
The condiment holding device 100 can provide substantial convenience and prevent unnecessary spillage during use. For example, a user will receive the condiment holding device 100 filled with the condiment and secured therein by the lid 170 removably affixed to the top 120. The adhesive 150 with removable cover 160 is affixed to the undercarriage of the bottom 130. The user would remove the removable cover 160 to expose the adhesive 150 on the bottom 130. The user would then secure the condiment holding device 100 in any desired location by applying pressure to the bottom 130 of the container 110 to allow the adhesive 150 to secure to the surface 210. If for example the user was riding in a car, the condiment holding device 100 may be secured to the arm rest, console, seat, dash board, or any other location. Once the condiment holding device 100 is secured, the user may remove the lid 170 to access the condiment held within the container 110. The user may then use the condiment in any fashion including dipping food products into the container 110 to access the condiment. After completing use of the condiment, the container 110 may be removed from the surface 210.
One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the condiment holding device 100 may be used and operated in any manner and order of operation. For instance, the user may choose to remove the lid 170 prior to affixing the condiment holding device 100 to the surface 210. One of ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that the container 110 is not limited to a conical shape but may be any shape including for instance rectangular, pyramidal, square, elliptical, spherical, or any other shape. It is also contemplated that the bottom 130 does not have to be larger than the top 120. The container 110 and associated top 120 and bottom 130 may be any shape that provides a stable securement to the surface 210.
It is also contemplated herein that the condiment may be accessed at any location on the container 110 and is not limited to access from the top. For example, the condiment may be accessed from a side location. The side location would include a lid removably affixed to the side similar to the lid 170 for the top 120 discussed previously herein. It also is contemplated that the condiment holding device 100 may affixed on any surface orientation include horizontal, vertical, or angled surfaces.
In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the container 110 of the condiment holding device 100 also may hold a plurality of condiments 520 for use. The top 120 of the condiment holding device 100 may include a plurality of compartments 520. In an exemplary embodiment, the plurality of condiments 520 may be placed in the plurality of compartments 520 to prevent mixture of the plurality of condiments 520 in the top 120 of the container 110. In another exemplary embodiment, the condiment holding device 100 includes a plurality of containers 110 affixed together to hold a plurality of condiments 520 in the condiment holding device 100.
In an exemplary embodiment, the container 110 is conically shaped and approximately two inches in height. The bottom 130 of the container 110 may be approximately one and three-eights of an inch in diameter and the top 120 may be approximately seven-eights of an inch in diameter. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the invention is in no way limited to these dimensions but may be any appropriate dimension.
It should be apparent that the foregoing relates only to exemplary embodiments of the present invention and that numerous changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined herein.

Claims

1. A condiment holding device comprising:

a container for holding a condiment comprising a top and a bottom, wherein the top is substantially hollow;

a lid removably affixed to the top of the container;

an adhesive device secured to the bottom of the container, wherein the adhesive device comprises a removable cover, wherein the removable cover allows access to the adhesive to removably secure the bottom of the container to a surface.

2. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the container is substantially cylindrical.

3. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the container is substantially rectangular.

4. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the top of the container is substantially circular.

5. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the top of the container is substantially rectangular.

6. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the area of the bottom of the container is larger than the area of the top of the container.

7. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the bottom of the container comprises a lip.

8. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the lid comprises metal.

9. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the lid comprises plastic.

10. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the adhesive is secured to an undercarriage of the bottom of the container.

11. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the top of the container comprises a plurality of compartments.

12. The condiment holding device of claim 10, wherein the lid comprises a plurality of lids corresponding with the plurality of compartments.

13. The condiment holding device of claim 11, wherein the plurality of compartments holds a plurality of condiments.

14. The condiment holding device of claim 1, wherein the removable cover is peelable.

15. A method for holding condiments comprising:

providing a container comprising a top and a bottom, wherein the top of the container is substantially hollow;

inserting a condiment into the top of the container;

affixing a removable lid to the top of the container; and

affixing an adhesive to the bottom of the container, wherein the adhesive comprises a removable cover.

16. A condiment holding device comprising:

a plurality of compartments within the top for holding a plurality of condiments;

a lid removably affixed to the top of the container;

an adhesive device secured to the bottom of the container, wherein the adhesive device comprises a removable cover wherein the removable cover allows access to the adhesive to removably secure the bottom of the container to a surface.

17. The condiment holding device of claim 16, wherein the container is substantially cylindrical.

18. The condiment holding device of claim 16, wherein the container is substantially rectangular.