Foldable Meal Tray

The present invention relates to a foldable meal tray, particularly, but not exclusively a foldable meal tray for use whilst meals, snacks or the like are being served to passengers on board an aircraft during an in-flight service.

It is common for airlines to offer passengers some form of meal or snack during flights, particularly on long haul flights. Since passenger space is very limited on most aircraft, the cabin crew normally serve meals to passengers directly at their seat on individual trays. Typically, these trays are placed on fold -down tables mounted on the rear of the seat in front of the passenger. Accordingly, the trays on which the meal is served are typically very small. As the passenger consumes the meal and manoeuvres the packaging, food, dri nks etc. around the tray, items are often dropped off the edge of the tr ay. Even if items are not dropped off the edge of tray, the act of balancing the numerous items on the smal I tray is undesirable for passengers.

According to the present invention, there is provided a foldable meal tray comprising:- a base tray providi ng a first surface for placement of meal items thereon; a raised shelf providing a second surface for placement of meal items thereon; support means provided between the raised shelf and the base tray to support the raised shelf above the base tray, the support means being foldably connected to the raised shelf and base tray such that the meal tray may be folded between an erected configuration for use and a flattened configuration for stowage between meal s.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description as well as the attached drawings and claims.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanyi ng drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a template for a first embodiment of a foldable meal tray in accordance with the present invention, prior to construction;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the constructed foldable meal tray of Fig.1 in its flattened, stowed configuration;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the constructed foldable meal tray of

Fig.1 in its erected, active configuration; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the foldable meal tray of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the foldable meal tray of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a front view of the fol dable meal tray of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a rear view of the foldable meal tray of Fig. 3;

Fig.8. is a plan view of a template for a second embodi ment of a foldable meal tray in accordance wi th the present invention, prior to construction;

Fig.9 is a front view of the inside surface of the lid of the embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig.8;

Fig.10 is a front view of the embodi ment of the fol dable meal tray of Fig. 8;

Fig.11 is a side view of the inside surface of the support means of the embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig.8;

Fig.12 is a side view of the embodiment of the foldable meal tray of

Fig. 8;and

Fig.13 shows an embodi ment of a programmable media card connectabl e to a foldable meal tray in accordance with the present invention.

The first stage in manufacturing the meal tray of the present invention is to create a blank template from a single piece of suitable material. In the present embodiment, this involves cutting out the template illustrated in Fig. 1 from a single sheet of cardboard 10. Cardboard is a particularly suitable material for the present invention because it is easy to work with, readily available, relatively inexpensive and is disposable. The cuts made in the cardboard create a template including a shelf 12, support struts 14, planar support 16 rear tray walls 18, base tray 19, side tray walls 20 and front tray wall 22.

The support struts 14 have semi-circular engagement tabs 24 cut into either end thereof, the purpose of which will be described subsequently.

The shelf 12 has a receiving aperture 26 which is suitably sized to receive a conical plastic cup or similar vessel, and a receiving aperture 28 which is cut to form triangular leaves which support a small drinks bottle or similar item. A slot 30 for receiving a service tray or similar item is also provided through the shelf 12. The shelf 12 effectively creates an area for the placement of meal items in addition to the area provided by the base tray 19.

The planar support 16 is provided with three finger receiving apertures 32 through the cardboard material. The size and spacing of t hese apertures 32 are such that a user may easily insert three of their fingers into the apertures in order to grip the whole tray. Additional finger receiving apertures (not shown) may be provided in the base tray 19 if desired.

The base tray 19 has a groove 34 which is of a corresponding shape and dimension as the slot 30 of the shelf 12.

Securing slits 36 are provided through the base tray 19 to allow a securing strip, such as a pi ece of cardboard with corrugated portions to pass therethrough, thereby allowing the tray to be secured to a surface, such as a fold down table of an aircraft.

The features previously described are all formed from a single piece of cardboard material. Between the shelf 12, support 16 and walls 16, 20, 22, hinges in the form of score lines in the cardboard (indicated by dashed lines in the attached drawings), are provided to assist folding of the material as the tray is being erected by the user. In this regard, various portions of the tray may be provided with foldable joints to allow such pieces to be foldably connected to other such features of the tray.

During manufacture, the tray is cut from the cardboard sheet 10. Securing means, such as a strap of elastic or corrugated cardboard 38 is then woven under the base tray 19 and through the securing slits 36 (seen in Fig. 4). In order to reduce the size of the tray, it is now folded along hinge line 40 to arrive at the configuration illustrated in Fig. 2. This is the stowed configuration. This initial constructing stage of the tray may also involve gluing tongues of the material together in order to secure the constructed tray together which will ensure that the tray may be repeatedly folded between its erect and its stowed configuration without being damaged. The tray may be pi aced in each seat pocket of the aircraft in its constructed (but not erected) configuration.

When a passenger wishes to use the tray he simply removes the tray from the seat pocket in front of him and erects it from its stowed configuration into its erect configuration (depicted in Fig. 3). In order to do this, the passenger simply folds up the shelf 12 and planar support 16 away from the base tray 19 and then slides the semi-circular engagement tabs 24 into corresponding slots provided in the side walls 20. This secures, the shelf 12 in its raised position above the base t ray 19. Additional fastening means may be provided on the stri ps and / or the side walls 20 if required; for example, poppers, hook and loop fasteners etc.

Once in the erect configuration depicted in Figs. 3 to 7, the user may remove items from the convenience tray given to them by the cabi n crew and place them on the base tray 19 or on the shelf 12. The hinged leaves of the aperture 28 provide a snug fit around any bott Ie placed therein. In this configuration, once all items have been transferred from the convenience tray to the foldable tray of the invention, the convenience tray may be temporarily stored by sliding it through the slot 30 and into the groove 34 in the base tray 19. The provision of the shelf 12 provides better utilisation of the limited space available to the passenger by effectively increasing the surface area on whi ch items may be placed.

Figs. 8 to 12 show a second embodi ment of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the template from which the foldable meal tray is cut. The template 51 comprises areas which will form the base, support means and raised shelf of the foldable meal tray. The raised shelf 53 contains areas 59 which will form cup holders on the shelf 53 and has side walls 61 , 63 which form the support means. The back 55 also forms part of the support means when the tray is assembled. The base 57 comprises rear, side and front walls 65, 67 and 69 respectively and is provided with areas which form slots that are adapted to receive flaps situated on other parts of the

structure, Fold lines 75 are positioned to assist in the assembly of the tray and tearing around the line 77 allows the centre 79 of the front area of the box to be folded flat against the surface on which base of the box is resting. Finger receiving apertures 66 allow the tray to be carried in one hand.

Another advantageous feature of this embodiment of the present invention, is that the tray can be configured in 3 positions. Firstly, when the tray is being transported prior to use, it can be packed flat. It is anticipated that trays in accordance with the present invention will be used by catering companies who provide hot meals and snacks for passengers on aircraft. Often, the parts of the meal that do not require to be heated are packed onto trays prior to being loaded onto the aircraft. The second embodiment of the present invention can be configured as a box into which are put the pre-packed meal items before the boxes are loaded onto the aircraft.

When configured as a box, the raised shelf 53, back 55 and supports 61 ,63 which form the raised shelf and the supports are folded flat forming the lid of the box as shown in Fig.9. The remainder of the box is formed by the tray base 57, rear wall 65, side walls 67 and front wall 69. The lid of the box may overhang the walls of the box slightl y; this assists in holding the supports 61 , 63 in a substantially flat position and stops them extending into the cavity of the box. The front wall 69 has a slot 73 into which a flap contained on the lid of the box ( not shown) may be inserted to secure the lid in position. Fig.9 also shows a media card 85 which may be made of electronic paper or other suitable programmable medium upon which text and i mages are displayable.

Electronic paper, also called e-paper, is a display technology designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike a conventional flat panel display, which uses a backlight to illuminate its pixels, electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper and is capable of holding text and images indefinitely without drawing electricity, while allowing the image to be changed later. The media card presents the passenger with a range of information on, for example the destination to which the aircraft is flying.

Fig.13 shows an embodi ment of a media card in more detail. The media card 111 is made from e-paper and comprises a display screen 113, a menu 115 and buttons 117. The menu 115 contains a list of possible information about the flight destination such as taxi numbers, hotel information and general tourist information and an alphanumeric code. The passenger can use the buttons 117 to punch in the code for the information he wants to read whereupon it will be displayed on the screen 113. The medi a card may be detachable from the meal tray and can be taken off the aircraft by the passenger . In addition to a range of advertising that is printed on the sides of the foldable tray, the media card presents a new way in which advertisers can have their products seen by potential customers. In other embodiments, the media card may be capable of receiving wireless communications which can update the information provided on the medi a card.

Figure 10 shows a front view of the second embodi ment of the foldable meal tray in accordance wi th the present invention. This view shows the back 55 and si des 61 , 63 supporting the raised shelf 53 with cup holders 59 extendi ng downwards from the plane of the raised shelf. Details of the configuration of supports 61 , 63 are pr ovided in Figs. 11 and 12. As is shown in Fig. 8, the cup holders 59 are formed from a section of the raised shelf and a section of the back 55 of the t ray which are attached at each

end 62, 64. In the stowed position, the respective sections of cup holder are flush against the raised shelf 53 and back 55 but can be pushed out manually to form the cup holders 59.

Figs.11 and 12 shows the side supports 61 and 63 in more detail. Support 61 is positioned on the inside of the side wall to support the raised shelf 53 and support 63 formed the outside of the support. Support 63 and 61 are attached by an adhesive or other suitable means at the end of the support 63 closest to the raised shelf such that the remainder of the support 61 can move relative to support 63. The end 103 of the support 61 remote from the raised shelf has an arcuate cut-out and is provided with a tab 107 formed from a section of the support 61 , such that the tab can be pressed through a receiving hole (not shown) in the side wall 67 of the base. A side view of the tray is shown in Fig. 12 wherein slots are provided for receiving tabs to further strengthen the st ructure.

In use, the tray is initially packed flat for transportation to a customer. The customer, such as an ai rcraft catering company, assembles the trays into boxes where the raised shelf and supports 61 , 63 are folded up to form the lid of the box. In this configuration, items such as cold food, cutlery, and napkins are loaded into each box before the boxes are loaded onto an aircraft. At the relevant time in the flight, the aircrew begin serving the meal. This involves taking items of hot food whi ch have been separately loaded onto the aircraft and adding them to the tray. In the case of the present invention, the aircrew simply open the lid of the box, and unfolding the shelf 53 with respect to the back 55 causes the supports to open outwards forming a supported raised shelf. Support 61 is also connected to the side of the base 67 via tab 107.

The above embodi ment of the present invention is particularly easy to assemble and can be assembled in a time that is comparable to the time that it would take to provide a passenger with a tray of food in the way in which food is currently served on aircraft.

The invention has a number of further advantages, including:-

- The invention provides a viable advertising opportunity, whereby advertisements from particular companies may be printed on the tray. For example the inner surface of the tray may have advertisements from a service directory company and the outer surface may have the airlines' own branding printed thereon. The invention is particularly advantageous in this respect since passengers are likely to pay close attent ion to the detail s of the advertisement; given that they are typically on a long haul flight, often with very little else to occupy themselves with. Indeed, as the relative costs of technology dramatically decrease, it may be possible to provide e.g. digital advertisement screens on the portions of the disposable tray; - The invention is designed to be formed from a disposable material (such as cardboard). This is very environmentally friendly, compared to e.g. plastic and is also very cheap to supply. The trays are also very cheap to replace when necessary; - The foldable nature of the tray results in there being very few constituent parts to the tray. This, along with the material choice, results in a very lightweight tray. Weight is an important factor in the airline industry since fuel costs for a given flight are directly proportional to the total aircraft payload;

- The tray does not contain any substances which are not already found on board an aircraft; and therefore does not fall foul of the very strict airline regulations on what items can be carried on board.

Modifications and improvement may be made to the foregoing, without departing from the scope of the invention, for example: -

Although the apparatus has been descri bed as a tray for use on aircraft, it may also be used on other modes of transport, such as trains, boats, trucks, cars etc., where space is at a premium.

Instead of having the hinged triangular leaves, aperture 28 may be provided with a lattice effect cardboard insert which may be pushed out from the plane of the shelf 12 in a concertina fashion. This provides a preferred holding arrangement, particularly suitable for bottles / other drinking vessels and which easily folds flat when required.