Cup holder

CUP HOLDER

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a cup holder for use by passengers in an aircraft.

Background of the invention

In most passenger aircraft, there is provided a folding tray on the rear of each passenger seat. The tray may either be folded away against the seat back in a stowed away position or hinged down on a pair of arms to provide a horizontal tray for the passenger seated behind.

The folding trays are used not only to support meals but also drinks that are served to the passengers during flights. To hold cups, the surface of the tray is formed with a cylindrical depression that prevents cups from sliding on the surface of the tray.

A disadvantage of using the folding trays is that they occupy most of the space between the passenger and the seat in front and restrict movement very severely. Further, the trays need to be folded back to allow other passengers access to the nearby aisle.

While the use of the folding tray is unavoidable when eating a meal, using a tray to hold only a cup is a nuisance and an inconvenience, which the present invention seeks to avoid.

Summary of the invention

Accordingly the present invention provides a cup holder for use by a passenger on board an aircraft to support a cup while a tray of the back of an aircraft seat in front of the passenger is in its stowed position, the cup holder comprising a flat elongate blank having two fold lines near its ends defining a pair of end sections which may be placed over one another by folding the blank in two to define an insertion flap for sandwiching between the stowed tray and the aircraft seat, the part of the blank between the fold lines being looped when in use, to define a top surface containing a cut-out for receiving and locating the cup and a supporting surface located beneath the cut-out to support the weight of the cup, wherein the looped part of the blank comprises in addition to the top surface two further surfaces, one resting in use on the folding tray and the other being inclined at an acute angle relative to the other two surfaces and constituting the supporting surface.

The advantage of the cup holder of the invention is that it is used with the tray in its stowed away position so that the passenger is not encumbered by having to fold the tray down. The cup is held securely without risk of sliding or spilling.

The cup holder itself may be formed as an inexpensive disposable item that may be provided in flat form and stored in the pocket normally provided in an aircraft seat to hold papers and magazines.

To minimise cost, the cup holder is preferably formed of cardboard but it is possible alternatively to use a plastics material.

The cup holder also presents an ideal advertising medium and an airline may readily recover its cost from sale of advertising space.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cup folder of the invention in its folded state,

Figure 2 is a plan view of a flat blank from which the cup holder of Figure 1 may be folded, and

Figure 3 is a section of the cup holder of Figure 1 when mounted on an aircraft seat and used to support a cup.

Detailed description of the drawings

Figure 1 shows a cup holder 10 that can be formed from the blank shown in Figure 2. In Figure 3, the cup holder 10 is shown in section while supporting a cup 30 and sandwiched between an aircraft seat 34 and a folding tray 32.

The blank comprises a single sheet of card 12 (though it may alternatively be formed of a plastics or a plastics coated material) that is divided by five fold lines 14, 15, 17, 19 and 21 into six sections, that are designated 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26, respectively, in all three figures of the drawings .

The section designated 18 is horizontal when the cup holder is in use and is formed with a circular cut-out 28 with radial slits for receiving the cup 30, in the manner shown in Figure 3. The radial slits allow the cut-out to be used for containers of different size. The cup rests on the inclined section 20 of the holder, which extends from the front edge of the horizontal section 18 to the folded tray 32. The section 20 thus acts as a stay supporting the horizontal section 18 as well as the cup 30.

The end sections 16 and 26 together form an insertion flap that depends from the rear edge of the horizontal section 18. At least one of the end sections is provided with an adhesive coating 40 and 42 (or preferably both end sections as is illustrated and as is used on self-seal envelopes) so that they should stick to one another then the blank is folded over. In use, the insertion flap is sandwiched between the tray 32 and the back of the seat 34. The section 24 forms a short bridge that fits over the edge of the tray 32 while the remaining section 22 lies against the tray 32.

The tray 32 normally sits in a recess in the back of the seat 34 and the horizontal surface 18 of the cup holder therefore abuts a shoulder of the recess and is prevented in this way from moving upwards relative to the seat 34.

The blank 12 can be folded flat and inserted into the pocket normally provided on the back of passenger seats in aircraft. If a passenger should wish to use it to hold a cup, then it is simply folded along the provided fold lines 14 into the shape shown in Figure 1. The tray 32 is lowered temporarily, the cup holder is slipped over the upper edge of the tray 32 and the tray is again closed. The rigidity of the blank, assisted by the fact that the flap formed by the sections 16 and 26 is sandwiched and gripped between the tray 32 and the seat back 34 ensures that the cup holder has sufficient strength to support the weight of the cup 30, even when filled with a liquid.

Advertisements may be printed on the blank 12 making it an excellent advertising medium, as the front face of the section 20 will be on display to the passenger throughout the time that it is in use. An airline may therefore readily recover its entire cost by the sale of advertising space .

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It will be clear that various modifications may be made to the illustrated cup holder without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims.