Cup holder

CUP HOLDER

0002Field of the invention

0003The present invention relates to a cup holder for use by passengers in an aircraft.

0004Background of the invention

0005In 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.

0006The 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.

0007A 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.

0008While 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.

0009Summary of the invention

0010Accordingly 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.

0011The 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.

0012The 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.

0013To minimise cost, the cup holder is preferably formed of cardboard but it is possible alternatively to use a plastics material.

0014The cup holder also presents an ideal advertising medium and an airline may readily recover its cost from sale of advertising space.

0015In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of supporting a cup on board an aircraft, which comprises providing a flat blank formed with a cut-out and fold lines, folding the blank along the fold lines to form a top surface with the cut-out and a retaining flap depending from the rear edge of the top surface, sandwiching the flap between a stowed folding tray and the back of a passenger seat and placing a cup in the cut-out to rest on a section of the blank lying beneath the cut-out.

0016Brief description of the drawings

0017The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

0018Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cup folder of the invention in its folded state,

0019Figure 2 is a plan view of a flat blank from which the cup holder of Figure 1 may be folded, and

0020Figure 3 is a section of the cup holder of Figure 1 when mounted on an aircraft seat and used to support a cup.

0021Detailed description of the drawings

0022Figure 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.

0023The 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 .

0024The 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.

0025The end sections 16 and 26 together form an insertion flap that depends from the rear edge of the horizontal section 18. In the illustrated embodiment, the end section are provided with adhesive coatings 40 and 42 (as 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.

0026The 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.

0027The 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.

0028Advertisements 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.

0029It will be clear that various modifications may be made to the illustrated cup holder. For example, the cup holder may include an additional section so that the box serving to hold the cup may be square in section, instead of being triangular.