TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to plates and glasses for serving food and drink. More particular¬ ly, the present invention relates to novel, improved assemblies of a plate and a glass which is attachable to the plate to form a unit which can be handled with one hand and to components for such assemblies.

The terms "plate" and "glass" are employed herein in a broad, generic sense. The term "plate" is intended to embrace such diverse artifacts as individ¬ ual eating dishes and different types of serving dishes. "Glass" encompasses: containers convention¬ ally named by that term, beverage and soup cups; insulated, screw top beverage containers; etc.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A number of situations exist in which the use of conventional plates and glasses is difficult. For example, at parties, picnics, and other social gatherings, guests are often obligated to stand or walk about while eating and drinking. Inevitably, they are forced to hold their plate in one hand and their glass in the other. This does not leave free a hand with which to eat. Therefore, the guest must first seek out a resting place for at least the glass. Not only is this inconvenient, but the availability of suitable resting places is frequently quite limited at a social gathering. Furthermore, a guest may be unable to subsequently identify his drink and may

recover someone else's drink by mistake. It is also frequently difficult to carry a separate plate and glass through a buffet line or when returning to one's seat at a sporting event or movie theater. Several different assemblies for eliminating the need to use both hands to carry a plate and a glass have been proposed. One is shown in U.S. patent No. 2,240,020 issued April 29, 1941 to Raiser. That assembly includes a plate having a central aperture for a cup and a hollow handle which extends downwardly from the cup-receiving receptacle. Although this device permits one to carry both the plate and cup with one hand _f the cup is not actually attached to the plate and is thus easily dislodged or overturned. Furthermore, liquid can readily slosh over the open top of the cup and onto the food. Still further, the food on the plate can easily come into contact with and foul the exterior of the drinking cup; and food may slosh through the opening in the plate and pass through the hollow handle onto an underlying table or lap.

U.S. patent No. 2,920,804 issued January 12, 1960, to Minton discloses a somewhat similar assembly in which a hollow sleeve forms a receptacle for a glass. This sleeve is joined to a plate component by a bead which releasably engages a flange on the plate. U.S. design patent No. 211,532 issued June 25, 1968, to Ashton discloses a serving tray having an overall configuration very similar to Minton's. U.S. patent No. 3,955,672 issued May 11, 1976, to Brundage dis¬ closes another plate having a hole in which an open cup is set. In this case, the plate has a channel for

balancing the plate on the user's forearm while he grasps the lower end of the cup.

U.S. patent No. 4,461,396 issued July 24, 1984, to Harper discloses a plate having a recess for the lower end of a glass in its upper surface. The user's thumb protrudes upwardly through a hole in the plate and presses against the base of the glass to retain it in the recess. This arrangement shares disadvantages with the devices disclosed in the patents cited above. Since the glass is not attached to the plate, momentary relief of thumb pressure may allow the glass to become dislodged; the drink can easily slosh out of the glass and onto the food; the food can slosh through the hole in the plate; and the food contained on the plate can easily get on the outside of the glass.

U.S. patent No. 1,688,992 issued October 23, 1928, to Smith discloses a cup and saucer combination in which the saucer may either support or cover the cup without sliding about. However, the cup and saucer are not attached to each other. U.S. patent No. 2,565,912 issued August 28, 1951, to Davis dis¬ closes a watercolor paint set in which the palette has a center portion that rests in the mouth of a water container. As the components of these units are not attached to each other, the units have the same disadvantages as Minton's and those of similar charac¬ ter.

The foregoing and other problems appurtenant to the earlier patented arrangements are resolved by the novel plate-and-glass assemblies disclosed in U.S. patent No. 5,058,737 issued 22 October 1991 to Patter¬ son et al. These assemblies are made up of: (a) a

plate with a generally horizontal upper surface for supporting food, a lower surface, and a peripheral rim; (b) at least one glass for holding a drink, the glass having an open upper end which forms a mouth; and (c) cooperating connector components for so detachably securing the glass to the lower surface of the plate that the mouth of the glass is covered by the plate and the glass is positioned in an upright orientation when the plate is positioned to support food. In the patented, Patterson et al. plate-and- glass assemblies, the plate-associated connector component — therein designated a "holder" or "glass holder" — is an integral part of the plate with which it is associated. It was subsequently found (see U.S. patent

No. 5,176,283 issued 5 January 1993 to Patterson et al.) that an integrally formed glass holder is not required and that one can instead often employ to advantage a holder fabricated as a separate component and subsequently attached to a plate as with an appropriate adhesive, by thermal or ultrasonic weld¬ ing, or by any other technique appropriate for a particular application of the invention. This provi¬ sion of a separately fabricated glass holder makes it possible to provide plate-and-glass assemblies which: (1) have the advantages of those disclosed in the '737 patent, but (2) do not require the specially designed plate-with-holder components of the latter. Instead, the novel glass holders disclosed in the parent application allow one to use conventional plates in the plate-and-glass assembly. This has the advantage that the plate can be made of cellulosic and other materials which would perhaps be impractical if the

integrated plate-and-glass holder approach disclosed in the '737 patent were employed. Also, the separate¬ ly fabricated holder gives plate manufacturers an inexpensive entree into the plate-and-glass assembly field.

Separate glass holders of the character disclosed in the '283 patent have the disadvantage that it is comparatively expensive to mold these components from plastics, and polymers are often the material of choice. Also, available cups — 6, 8, and 12 ounce, for example — differ in diameter at their open, upper ends. This requires that a different glass holder, and therefore a different mold, be made available for each different cup size. As a conse- quence of the foregoing, glass holders as disclosed in the parent application may be too expensive to be used with plates which are not non-disposable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has now been discovered that one-piece glass holders as disclosed in the '283 patent are unnecessary and that they can be replaced with a triangular array of inexpensive, easily fabricated and applied glass holder components sometimes hereinafter referred to as "wedges". These novel wedges also have the advantage that their relative spacing can be adjusted, making them capable of accommodating cups of different sizes. Because of the foregoing factors, the present invention makes economically practical the application of glass holders to paper and other disposable plates.

Particularly after a plate has been filled, it may prove difficult to manipulate the plate and glass in the manner employed to slide the glass into the array of glass holder components and thereby lock the glass to the plate. This problem is solved by placing on the upper surface of the plate indicia showing the location of the entrance to the glass holder wedge array and, if desired, the direction in which the glass is to be displaced to lock it to the plate. Such indicia may be incorporated in, or constitute, an aesthetically pleasing design, adver¬ tising material, etc. on the plate's upper surface.

It has also been found that, irrespective of the type of locking mechanism that is employed, plate- and-glass assemblies employing the principles devel¬ oped in this application and in the '737 and '283 patents can be so constructed as to accommodate those currently ubiquitous, plastic, screw top containers provided for soft drinks and other beverages. This is an important advantage at least because of the preva¬ lence of these containers and the consequent number of situations where one is faced with the need to handle both a plate and a container of this character.

The simple provision of a peripheral recess allows a screw top beverage container to be locked to a plate with a glass holder wedge array as disclosed in this application; a locking component as disclosed in the parent application; or an integral locking mechanism as disclosed in the '737 patent. Particu- larly versatile in this respect is the glass holder wedge array disclosed in this specification, which can be used to couple the container to a variety of disposable and other plates. Alternatively, coupling

may be provided by a bayonet mechanism with plate-and container-associated elements, by adhesively bonding the container cap to the plate, or by a variety of other mechanisms. A straw port is formed in the side of the screw cap as the conventional port in the top of the cap is covered by the plate to which the container is connected. A novel accessory strap can be employed to adjust the flexible straw commonly supplied with the container to, and maintain it in, a configuration in which the straw is easily reached by the user when the container is assembled to the plate. An alternate which accomplishes the same objective is to provide an aperture or notch in the rim of the container associ- able plate through which the flexible straw can be trained.

It has also been found that, by providing a disposable plate separate from a plate holder, the options available for forming the glass holder on the underside of the plate are increased. For example, tabs formed by punching holes in the bottom of the plate holder can be employed to engage and hold a rim of a drink container. Because the eating surface is formed by the disposable plate and not the plate holder itself, the holes in the plate holder do not adversely affect the ability of the plate assembly to hold food. A plate assembly employing tabs punched in a plate holder as just described may be cheaply and inexpensively formed. An additional discovery is that the diffi¬ culties of assembly and transportation presented by the straw hole discussed in the parent application may be overcome by providing a cap for an insulated

container that has a straw recess formed in an upper surface thereof. This straw recess is generally a radially extending groove formed on the upper surface of the cap which communicates with an opening through the cap. Only one straw need be employed with such a straw recess, and this groove is formed in a manner that allows the opening to be closed during transpor¬ tation to alleviate the problem of spillage during such transportation. Also, it has been found that there are a number of novel unobvious features which can be incorporated to advantage in plates designed for plate-and-glass assemblies of the character disclosed herein, whether or not they are intended to be dispos- able, and that these features can be incorporated to equal advantage in the plates of those assemblies disclosed- in the '737 and '283 patents.

Specifically, it has also been discovered that the invention disclosed in the '737 and '283 patents may be adapted to attach a conventional beverage can to a plate assembly. Portions of tabs or wedges attached to the plate holder may be configured to so receive the upper end of the beverage can that the can may be coupled to the provided glass holder. A conventionally present, radial lip or rim at the upper end of the beverage can is trapped between a portion of the holder and the bottom of the plate and thus detachably couples the can to the plate as the can is slid between the tabs or wedges. Another, also optional but advantageous, innovation is the provision of caps designed to accommodate different styles and sizes of beverage containers to a single glass holder. This is illus-

trated by the inclusion of nested beverage containers for providing additional insulation of the beverage contained therein during transportation. Specifical¬ ly, a first, smaller container is contained within a second, larger container. First and second caps are provided for the first and second containers which adapt the mouths thereof to fit a standard glass holder on the underside of the plate assembly. During transportation, the first container is capped and placed within the second container, which is capped and attached to the cup holder. Subsequently, the second cap and container are removed and the first cap is attached to the cup holder while the plate-and- glass assembly is in use. Either container may be used alone, as well.

The plate holder employed in the present invention may need to be modified to accommodate beverage cans having rims of vario.us diameters. Accordingly, two rails may be provided which deflect to accommodated larger rims. Alternatively, the rails may each have curved surfaces, where one pair of curved surfaces accommodates larger rims and the other pairs of curved surfaces accommodate smaller rims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a plate-and- glass assembly employing a glass holder wedge array to detachably couple the glass to the plate in accord with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial vertical section through the plate-and-glass assembly of FIG. 1 with the glass coupled to the plate;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one of three identical glass holder wedges employed in the plate- and-glass assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of stock material from which the components of a glass holder wedge such as that illustrated in FIG. 3 may be die cut;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the plate of a second plate-and-glass assembly employing the princi¬ ples of the present invention; that plate has an integrally molded glass holder wedge array;

FIG. 6 is a section taken substantially along line 6-6 of FIG. 5 and showing an associated glass coupled to the plate of the assembly illustrated in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a third plate- and-glass assembly which embodies the principles of the present invention; in this embodiment the glass of the assembly is a screw top beverage container with a flexible straw for extracting the contents of the container;

FIG. 8 is a partial vertical section through the plate-and-glass assembly of FIG. 7 with the beverage container assembled to the plate;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a fourth plate-and-glass assembly employing the principles of the present invention; this assembly also has a screw top beverage container;

FIG. 10 is a partial section through the plate-and-glass assembly of FIG. 9 with the container coupled to the plate and a container accessing straw trained through an aperture in the rim of the plate to orient the straw in a manner convenient for a user;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary section through a fifth plate-and-glass assembly in accord with the principles of the present invention; this plate-and- glass assembly differs from the one illustrated in FIG. 10 primarily in that the rim of the plate is notched to accommodate and orient the container accessing straw;

FIG. 11A is a fragmentary view looking in the direction indicated by arrows 11A-11A in FIG. 11; FIG. 12 is an exploded view of a sixth plate-and-glass assembly employing the principles of the present invention; this assembly also utilizes a screw top container but has a different system for coupling that container to the associable plate of the assembly;

FIG. 13 is a partial fragmentary view through a plate-and-glass assembly as illustrated in FIG. 12 with the container coupled to the plate of the assembly; FIG. 14 is a perspective view, looking down on a plate-and-glass assembly employing a separately fabricated glass holder constructed in accord with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is an exploded, perspective view, looking up toward the plate-and-glass assembly of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a section through FIG. 14, taken substantially along line 16-16 of the latter figure;

FIG. 17 is a bottom view of a separately fabricated glass holder employed in another plate-and- glass assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a setion view of the plate-and- glass assembly depicted in FIG. 17 showing details of fabrication and assembly thereof;

FIG. 19 is a top plan view of another plate- and-glass assembly of the present invention in which the glass holder comprises an arcuate flange;

FIG. 20 is an exploded, perspective view, looking up toward another plate-and-glass assembly implementing the principles of the invention; FIG. 21 is a section view of the plate-and- glass assembly depicted in FIG. 20 showing details of fabrication and assembly of a plate-and-glass assembly employing a separate cap and radially extending slot formed thereon for insertion of a straw into the beverage container;

FIG. 22 is an exploded, perspective view, looking down on a plate-and-glass assembly employing yet another separately fabricated glass holder;

FIG. 23 is a section view of the assembly depicted in FIG. 22 showing details of fabrication and assembly of a plate-and-glass assembly employing nested beverage containers;

FIG. 24 is an exploded, perspective view, looking up at a plate-and-glass assembly adapted to secure beverage cans of differing size rims to the plate;

FIG. 25 is a bottom plan view depicting the plate-and-glass assembly shown in FIG. 24;

FIG. 26A is a perspective cut-away view taken along lines 13A in FIG. 25;

FIG. 26B is a perspective cut-away view taken along lines 26B-26B in FIG. 27;

FIG. 27 is a bottom plan view depicting the plate-and-glasέ assembly shown in FIG. 24;

FIGS. 28 and 29 are perspective and bottom plan views, respectively, of another plate-and-glass assembly adapted to secure beverage cans of differing size rims to the plate; and

FIGS. 30 and 31 are perspective and bottom plan views, respectively, of yet another plate-and- glass assembly adapted to secure beverage cans of differing size rims to the plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, reference character 20 identifies a plate- and-glass assembly 20 constructed in accord with, and embodying the principles of the present invention. The components of assembly 20 are: a plate 22; a glass or container 24; and a U-shaped array 26 of components 28, 30, and 32 on the bottom side 34 of plate 22 for detachably coupling glass 24 to the plate.

Plate 22 may or may not be of the disposable type, and it may be fabricated from such diverse materials as synthetic polymers (typically a polypro- pylene or a polystyrene) , porcelains and glasses, metals, and cellulosic materials such as the heavier grades of paper.

The illustrated, exemplary plate 22 has: (1) a horizontally orientable, upper, food-receiving surface 36 surrounded by an arcuate, upwardly directed rim 38 which keeps food from sliding off the plate, and (2) the aforementioned lower side or bottom 34 which is in part flat and therefore affords stability when plate 22 is placed on a supporting surface. The glass 24 assembled to plate 22 in plate- and-glass assembly 20 is of equally conventional construction and can similarly be fabricated from a wide variety of materials including those identified above. This illustrated, exemplary glass 24 has a frustoconical configuration with a closed bottom 40 at one end and an open mouth 42 of somewhat larger diameter at the other. Surrounding the frustoconical

wall 44 of the cup at mouth 42 is a radially and outwardly extending, rolled, integral rim or lip 46.

The three identical glass holder components 28, 30, and 32 employed to detachably couple glass 24 to plate 22 are typically fabricated by injection molding from a suitable polystyrene and then bonded to the bottom side 34 of plate 22 with an appropriate adhesive.

Each of these three glass holder components has a main body segment 48 and an integral, protruding flange 50 at one side of the main segment 48. With the holder components 28, 30, and 32 bonded to the bottom side 34 of plate 22 as shown in FIG. 2, the flanges 50 of these three components are spaced from the bottom side 34 of the plate a distance "d" approx¬ imately equal to the depth of the lip 46 on glass 24. Thus, with glass 24 assembled to plate 22 as shown in FIG. 2, glass 24 is securely coupled to the plate and trapped against the bottom side 34 of plate 22, keeping the liquid 52 in glass 24 from spilling out of the mouth 42 of the glass.

Turning now to FIG. 1, two of the glass holder components 28 and 32 are fixed in parallel, spaced apart relationship to the bottom side 34 of plate 22 on opposite sides of and at equal distances from the midpoint 54 of the plate with the distance w, between the apposite edges 56 of these two components approximately equal to the outer diameter of the lip 46 at the mouth 42 of glass 24. The flanges 50 of these two glass holder components 28 and 32 are so dimensioned that the distance w ₂ between their apposite edges 58 approximates the diameter of the frustocon¬ ical side wall 44 at the mouth 42 of the glass.

The third glass holder component 30 is oriented at right angles to components 28 and 32 mid way between those components at one end of array 26 with the distance 1 between the flange edge 58 of that component and the midpoint 54 of glass 24 such that, with the glass coupled to plate 22 by relative recti¬ linear sliding displacement as shown in FIG. 2 and the rim 46 of the glass consequently trapped between the flange 58 of component 30 and the bottom side 34 of plate 22, the maximum diameter of rim 46 coincides with the midpoint 54 of plate 22 or lies past that midpoint toward glass holder component 30. this ensures that the glass does not come loose from the plate while the plate-and-glass assembly 20 is being used.

It is preferred, though not essential, that the edges 58 of the langes 50 of glass holder compo¬ nents 28, 30, and 32 have the arcuate configuration shown in FIG. 1. This maximizes surface-to-surface contact between the glass and glass holder components and thereby promotes secure coupling of glass 24 to plate 22.

As mentioned briefly above, one of the important advantages of the novel array 26 of glass holder components just described is the versatility that this novel glass holder mechanism affords. In particular, the dimensions of conventional glasses such as that identified by reference character 24 in FIGS. 1 and 2 at their mouths are similar, varying only from 3.0 inches for a 6 ounce glass to 3.5 inches for a 12 ounce glass. And a perfect match between the contours of holder component flange edges 58 and the frustoconical wall 44 of glass 24 is not essential.

As a consequence, a plate-and-glass assembly such as that identified by reference character 20 in FIG. 1 can be fabricated to accommodate these representative different sizes of glasses simply by increasing or decreasing, as appropriate, the spacing w, and the distance 1 in the course of attaching holder compo¬ nents 28, 30, and 32 to plate 22. The consequence of this and the low cost of manufacturing the glass holder components and attaching them to plate 22 is that the glass holder mechanism 26 may be provided cheaply enough to make it economically practical for throwaway plastic and paper plates.

Referring again to the drawing, an alterna¬ tive to the molded holder components discussed above is a component of this character fabricated from cellulosic stock or paper. A holder component of that character is illustrated in FIG. 3 and identified by reference character 60. This holder component has a body segment 62 composed of two bonded together lamina 64 and 66 and a flange 68 which is a third lamina and is bonded to lamina or layer 66 of the segment. In one particular application of the invention employing glass holder components as shown in FIG. 3, all three of the lamina or layers 64, 66, and 68 are 0.05 inch thick. Body segment forming lamina 64 and 66 could of course be replaced with a single lamina 0.10 inch thick.

Like the holders 28, 30, and 32 discussed above, those of the character illustrated in FIG. 3 are employed in sets of three; and they are adhesively bonded to the bottom side of a plate such as that identified by reference character 22 in the orienta¬ tion and with the spacing therebetween discussed above

in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2. With the holder components 60 thus attached to a plate and a glass such as that identified by reference character 24 installed, the flanges 68 of the glass holder compo- nents are spaced that distance d from plate 22. This results in the lip 46 at the open end of the glass being trapped between the flanges 68 of the holder components 60 and the plate 22 to which components 60 are attached. The lamina 64, 66, and 68 of holder 60 can be fabricated from inexpensive cellulosic sheet stock. Furthermore, these elements can be die cut from a sheet 70 of stock of the appropriate thickness without waste as is shown in FIG. 4. At the same time, wedges of this character even though made from the relatively thin stock identified above are sufficiently rigid as to not give way even under the weight of a completely filled 12 ounce or even larger glass 24.

Particularly in cases involving non-dispos- able plates, an array of integral as opposed to attached glass holder components may be preferred — for example, to eliminate the possibility of the components coming loose after repeated use and wash¬ ing. A plate-and-glass assembly with such integral glass holder components is illustrated in FIG. 6 and identified by reference character 72.

Like the separately fabricated components discussed above, those formed as integral parts of a plate have a main body segment and an integral flange. In FIG. 6, and also in FIG. 5, the integrally molded glass holder components are identified by reference characters 74, 76, and 78; the main segment or body 80 of representative component 76 by reference character

80; and the flange of that component by reference character 82. The distance d between the flange and the bottom side 34 of the plate 84 in plate-and-glass assembly 72 is the same lip 46 accommodating distance as in the previously described embodiments of the invention.

Integral glass holder components 74, 76, and 78 have the advantage of being comparatively inexpen¬ sive to manufacture in situ in that only push, pull, and twist motions and no sliding movements of mold components are required.

Aside from the use of integrally molded glass holder components, plate 84 differs from the plate 22 illustrated in FIG. 1 and described above in that the two glass holder components 74 and 78 at the sides of glass holder component array 86 are not parallel but are instead canted, bringing the forward edges 88 of these components closer together than the rear or downstream edges 90. This orientation may be employed to optimize contact between the edges 58 of the component flanges 82 and the wall 44 of glass 24, more securely coupling the glass 24 to the plate.

Also, FIG. 5 shows a feature which can be employed to advantage in virtually any plate-and-glass assembly with a glass holder mechanism of the charac¬ ter illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 and described above to facilitate the coupling of the glass of the assembly by rectilinear sliding movement to its associated plate. In particular, it will be appreciated from what has gone before that the glass of an assembly such as that identified by reference character 20 in FIG. 1 or by reference character 72 in FIG. 6 is accomplished by seating the rim 46 of the assembly's

glass against the bottom side of the associated plate and then effecting relative displacement between the glass and plate in the direction identified by arrow 91 in FIG. 5. It will also be appreciated that, to effect this relative displacement, the glass must first be positioned on the bottom side 34 of the plate and centered on arrow 91. This is facilitated by providing appropriate indicia 93 on the upper side 36 and near the periphery 92 of plate 84 at the location indicated by reference character 94 in FIG. 5. The indicia 93 may, and will often, take the form of corporate or other advertising.

It was pointed out above that the present invention is also concerned with assemblies of the character discussed above, in the parent application, and the '737 patent in which one component of the assembly is an insulated, screw top beverage contain¬ er.

One representative assembly of that charac- ter, in which the principles of the present invention are embodied, is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 and identified by reference character 96. Plate-and-glass assembly 96 is comprised of a plate 98 with a U-shaped array 100 of glass or container holder components 102, 104, and 106; a screw top beverage container 108; internal and external straws 110 and 112 for extract¬ ing liquid 52 from the container; and a unit 114 which can be used to: (1) orient straw 112 for easy access by a user when container 108 is assembled to plate 98, and (2) cap the open end 116 of straw 112 and thereby keep liquid from being inadvertently discharged through that end of the straw.

Depending upon whether plate 98 is designed to be disposable or non-disposable, container holder components 102, 104, and 106 will typically and respectively be integral parts of the plate or sepa- rate components adhesively bonded to the bottom side 34 of the plate as is shown in FIG. 7. To compensate for the typically larger and therefore heavier con¬ tainers of the type shown in that figure, the two container holders 102 and 106 in array 100 are prefer- ably made longer than the third container holder component 104 rather than the same size as the latter as is typically the case in those embodiments of the invention discussed previously. Also, the apposite edges 118 of the flanges 120 on container holder components 102 and 106 have a downstream, concave, beverage container-engaging segment 122 and an inte¬ gral, convex, upstream segment 124 for trapping container 108 between flanges 120 in the coupled configuration illustrated in FIG. 8. The flange 126 of the third container holder component 104 may have the same arcuate configuration as the similarly oriented components of that character discussed above.

Beverage container 108 is of generally conventional construction. It has a receptacle 128 with an externally threaded upper end 130 surrounded by an expanded polystyrene or other insulating sleeve 132 and a cap or top 134 with an internally threaded side wall 136 and an integral top wall 138 in which the customary port 140 for a drinking straw is formed. Cap 134 differs somewhat from its conven¬ tional counterpart, primarily in that: (1) a second drinking straw port 142 is formed through its side wall 136, and (2) a circumferential annular groove 144

is formed in and near the upper edge of side wall 136. This groove opens onto the periphery 146 of the cap. With container 108 assembled to plate 98 by rectilin¬ ear relative sliding movement as shown in FIG. 7, the flanges 118 of container holder components 102 and 106 and the flange 126 of the third container holder component 104 are trapped in the groove 144 in cap 134, coupling container 108 to plate 98. And, as indicated above, the convex segments 124 of the two container holder components 102 and 106 then so surround the side wall 136 of cap 134 as to keep it from becoming disconnected by sliding in the direction indicated by arrow 148 in _. FIG. 8.

With container 108 coupled to plate 98 in the manner just described, the otherwise usable straw port 140 in the top wall 138 of container screw cap 134 is blocked; and the rigid upper end segment 149 of the straw 110 in receptacle 128 is instead trained through the alternately employable straw port 142 in screw cap side wall 136. The upper end segment 149 of straw 110 protrudes beyond screw cap side wall 136. That allows the second, external straw 112 to be coupled to the straw 110 in container receptacle 128 by sliding the rigid lower end segment 150 of external straw 112 onto the exposed end segment 149 of straw 110.

External straw 112 is conventional. It has the just-mentioned rigid lower end segment 150 and rigid mid and upper end segments 152 and 154. The rigid segments are separated by integral, corrugated, flexible segments 156 and 158 which allow external straw 112 to be bent to configurations selected by

user — for example, those shown in solid and phantom lines in FIG. 8.

Typically (see FIG. 8) , external straw 112 will be bent into a L- or V-shaped configuration to clear the periphery 160 of plate 98 and to make the mouth engageable outlet 116 of the straw readily accessible to the user from above the plate. As suggested above, straw 112 is kept in the selected configuration by the plate-and-glass assembly unit 114.

Referring now to both FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, that unit has two apertured elements 162 and 164 which respectively surround and can be displaced along the flexible, corrugated segments 156 and 158 of straw 112 and a flexible strap 166 extending between and con¬ nected at opposite ends to elements 162 and 164. With elements 162 and 164 located as shown in FIG. 8, straw 112 is constrained to the L-shaped configuration shown in FIG. 8. However, by moving element 164 closer to element 162 as shown in phantom lines in the same figure, straw 112 can relax in the direction indicated by arrow 168 into the V-shaped configuration shown in the same figure.

Particularly if external straw 112 were to be inadvertently disturbed in a manner which would result in opening or outlet 116 facing in a downward direction, liquid 52 might accidentally be discharged through the straw. To preclude this, plate-and-glass assembly 114 can be equipped with a cap 170 which can be installed on the rigid upper segment 154 of straw 112 to close opening 116. Cap 170 is preferably connected to the straw surrounding element 164 of unit 114 as by the illustrated flexible strap 172 to keep

the cap from being lost while allowing it to be easily installed on external straw segment 154 to close outlet 116 (see FIG. 7) .

As indicated above, it is not necessary that plate-and-glass assemblies with screw top beverage containers also have the multicomponent type of glass holder mechanism disclosed herein for coupling the beverage container to an associated plate or that the screw top of the container even be detachable from the plate. Instead, the screw cap of the container may be permanently affixed to the plate and the receptacle of the container screwed into the cap to complete the assembly.

One representative plate-and-container assembly of the character just described is illustrat¬ ed in FIGS. 9 and 10 and identified by reference character 174. In this assembly, the top wall 138 of screw cap 176 is fastened with an appropriate adhesive 178 to the bottom side 34 of plate 180. The insulated receptacle 128 of the container 182 is first filled with a selected liquid or other substance and then screwed into the cap with the external threads 183 on the upper end 130 of receptacle 128 engaging threads 184 in cap 176 to securely couple receptacle 128 to the cap.

Cap 176 has the advantage of potentially being somewhat cheaper to manufacture than the cap 134 illustrated FIGS. 7 and 8. Because the cap is perma¬ nently attached to plate 180, a straw port in the upper wall 138 of the cap and a peripheral groove such as that identified by reference character 144 in FIG. 8 are both superfluous; and the cost of providing this groove and port can be eliminated.

Plate-and-glass assembly 174 also differs from its counterpart shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 by virtue of the unit 114 employed in the latter to maintain external straw 112 in a selected orientation being eliminated. Instead, this same objective is realized by forming an aperture 186 through plate 180 near its rim 188 and training external straw 112 through this aperture with the rigid mid section 152 of the straw engaged by the plate. This is effective to maintain external straw 112 in the easily accessed, L-shaped configuration shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

An alternative is to form in the plate of the assembly a notch opening onto its periphery. A plate of this character is illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 11A and identified by reference character 190.

The straw receiving and orienting aperture 192 in this plate has a keyhole configuration, and the aperture opens onto the periphery 194 of the plate. With the intermediate rigid section 152 of the straw seated in this aperture by moving it in the direction indicated by arrow 196 (see FIG. 11A) , integral, facing projections 198 engage the straw and keep it in place.

FIGS. 12 and 13 depict a plate-and-container assembly 200 which differs from its counterpart shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 in that it employs a bayonet locking mechanism 202 to detachably couple insulated container 204 to the plate 206 of the assembly. This locking mechanism includes a set of separately fabricated, identical, snap-in fittings 208...214 fixed to the bottom side 34 of plate 206 at equal intervals around a circle 216 centered on the midpoint 54 of the plate and complementary apertures 218...221 in the side wall

136 of beverage container screw cap 222 adjacent the top wall 138 of that cap.

Each of the snap in-retainers 208...214 has a rigid body 226 fastened by an appropriate adhesive to the bottom side 34 of plate 206; an inwardly facing, cap-recess-engaging retaining element 228 oriented in parallel, spaced relationship to the plate's bottom side 34; and a flexible, normally extending, vertical leg 230 connecting the retaining element 228 to the body 226 of the fastener.

Beverage container 204 is assembled to plate 206 of assembly 200 by displacing it upwardly relative to the plate as suggested by arrow 232 in FIG. 12. A tapered or rounded off upper edge portion 234 of cap side wall 136 with a diameter at the top wall 138 of the cap smaller than the diameter of a circle tangent to the inner edges 236 of integral fastener elements 228 facilitates this displacement by allowing the fastener elements 228 to clear the upper end of the cap. Thereafter, as container 204 moves toward plate 206 as indicated by arrow 232, the retainer elements 228 of the several fasteners 208...214 spread apart due to the flexibility in fastener segments 230. Ultimately, these fastener elements are seated in the lower ends 238 of the complementary, screw cap associ¬ ated recesses 218 221 with the top wall 138 of the cap abutting the bottom side 34 of plate 206 to complete the assembly process.

As is perhaps best shown in FIG. 13, it is equally easy to remove insulated beverage container 204 from plate 206. Specifically, the cap-associated recesses 218...221 have upwardly and outwardly in¬ clined inner end surfaces 240. In removing container

204 by moving it in the direction opposite that indicated by arrow 232, fastener elements 228 simply ride up these surfaces, eliminating any binding or other obstruction to the removal of the container. It is to be reemphasized that, like the embodiments of the invention depicted FIGS. 1-6, those illustrated in FIGS. 7-13 are only representative and that an endless variety of other plate-and-container assemblies of the general character shown in those figures also lie within the scope of the invention. For example, the screw cap of the container may, as an alternative, be an integrally molded component of the assembly's plate. Another, representative alternative is to replace the internal/external, flexible straw arrangement illustrated in the drawings with a single flexible straw. The illustrated arrangement is, in this respect, preferred primarily to make the straw easier to remove from the cap of the insulated con¬ tainer as may be necessary to adequately clean the interior of the screw cap. Many other alternatives will readily occur to the audience to which this specification is addressed.

Referring now to FIGS. 14-16 reference character 320 identifies a plate-and-glass assembly constructed in accord with, and employing the princi¬ ples of the present invention. Referring for the moment to FIGS. 14 and 15, the components of this assembly 320 are: a plate assembly 322; a beverage can 324; an integrally fabricated glass holder 326 which cooperates with the plate to detachably couple the can 324 to the plate 322. The plate assembly 322 itself comprises a disposable plate 328 and a plate

holder 330. The glass holder 326 is attached to the bottom 332 (FIG. 15) of the plate holder 322.

The plate 328 is, as mentioned, of the disposable type, and is normally fabricated from synthetic polymers and cellulosic materials such as the heavier grades of paper. The plate holder 330 is generally not disposable, and may be fabricated from such diverse materials as synthetic polymers, porce¬ lains and glasses, metals, and cellulosic materials such as the heavier grades of paper. In this exempla¬ ry assembly 320, however, metals, synthetic polymers, and cellulosic materials such as the heavier grades of paper are the materials of choice for reasons that will become clear from the following discussion. The illustrated, exemplary plate 338 has:

(1) a horizontally orientable, upper, food-receiving surface 33 surrounded by an arcuate, upwardly direct¬ ed side wall 336 which keeps food from sliding off the plate, and (2) a flat lower side or bottom 338 (FIG. 15) .

The plate holder 330 depicted in FIG. 14 similarly comprises: (1) a horizontally orientable, upper, surface 340 surrounded by an arcuate, upwardly directed side wall 342 which keeps food from sliding off the plate, and (2) the aforementioned lower side or bottom 332 which is flat and therefore affords some stability when the plate 322 is placed on a supporting surface. Additionally, projecting radially inwardly from the side wall 342 of the plate holder 330 are a number of retaining tabs 344.

The plate holder 330 is designed to receive, support, and retain the plate 328. Specifically, the diameter of the plate side wall 336 is slightly

smaller than that of the plate holder side wall 342 so that the plate 328 may be placed onto the plate holder upper surface 340. Additionally, the plate side wall 336 extends upwardly from the plate upper surface 334 a distance slightly less than the distance that the plate holder side wall 342 extends above the plate holder upper surface 340.

When the plate 328 is placed on the plate holder upper surface 340, the plate 328 is so snugly received by the plate holder 330 that: (a) the plate holder side wall 342 is adjacent to the plate side wall 336 and thus prevents substantial sideways movement of the plate 328; and (b) the retaining tabs 344 extend over portions of the plate side wall 336 to prevent unintentional upward movement of the plate 328 relative to the plate holder 330. The flexible material from which the plate 328 is preferably constructed allows the plate 328 to flex during insertion under and removal from the retaining tabs 344.

The beverage can 324 assembled to the plate assembly 322 in plate-and-glass assembly 320 is of conventional construction and can similarly be fabri¬ cated from a wide variety of materials including those identified above. This illustrated, exemplary glass 324 is an aluminum can and has a generally cylindrical configuration with a closed bottom 346 (FIG. 15) at one end and a closed top 348 (FIG. 14) at the other. As is well-known, the top 348 has a pull tab or other means for creating an opening in the top 348 through which the beverage contained within the can 324 may be drunk.

Surrounding the top 348 of the can 324 is an upwardly extending integral rim 350. This rim 350 is coaxially aligned with, but has a slightly smaller diameter than, a cylindrical side wall 352 of the can 324. This rim 350 also has an integrally formed, radially and outwardly extending lip 354. The rim 350, the lip 354, and a portion 356 (FIG. 14) of the can 324 connecting the rim 350 to the side wall 352 define an annular recess 358 extending around the can 324 below the lip 354. As will be described in more detail below, this recess 358 receives portions of the glass holder 326 so that the glass holder 326 may couple the can 324 to the plate assembly 322.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 15 and 16, the integrally fabricated glass holder 326 is formed from three locking tabs 360 that extend down¬ wardly from the bottom surface 332 of the plate holder 330. These locking tabs 360 comprise a downwardly extending portion 362 and a radially inwardly extend- ing portion 364.

The locking tabs 360 are formed from the plate holder 330 material during molding. For exam¬ ple, when the plate holder 330 and glass holder 326 is made of synthetic polymers, these locking tabs 360 may be easily and inexpensively formed during the injec¬ tion molding process. In a metal or cellulosic plate holder, the downwardly extending and inwardly extend¬ ing portions 362 and 364 of the locking tabs 360 should be formed by a die-punching process. In this case, the retaining tabs 344 may be similarly die- punched from the plate holder 330. It should be clear that a large number of combinations of materials and manufacturing methods may be employed to make these

plate holders; however, the use of injection molded polymers is generally preferred.

This injection-molding process creates holes 366 in the plate holder 330. The retaining tabs 344 have similar corresponding holes 368 in the side wall 342 of the plate holder 330. However, because the plate 328 and not the plate holder 330 receives food, the plate 328 covers these holes 364 and 366 as shown in FIG. 16 and thus do not adversely affect the ability of the plate assembly 322 to contain the food.

Additionally, these holes 366 have the advantage that a plurality of plate holders such as the plate holder 330 may be stacked one on top of another. When the plate holders are so stacked, the holes 366 receive the tabs 360 of the plate holders above, allowing the upper surface of one plate holder to abut the lower surface of the plate holder above. This greatly reduces the amount of space necessary for storing and transporting large quantities of such plate holder.

Referring now more specifically to FIG. 16, it can be seen that the inwardly extending portions 364 of the locking tabs 360 extend into the aforemen¬ tioned recess 358 below the lip 354 of the can 324. These portions 364 thus underlie and abut the lip 354. The lip 354 itself lies under and abuts the bottom surface 332 of the plate holder 330. This arrangement prevents relative upward movement between the plate holder 330 and the can 324. Additionally, the three locking tabs 360a,

360b, and 360c are arranged to receive the can 324 in a manner that allows relative lateral displacement between the can 324 and the plate holder 330 only in

one direction. Specifically, these tabs 360a, 360b, and 360c are arranged in a triangular configuration with the distance between the tabs 360b and 360c being greater than the distance between tabs 360a and 360b and the distance between the tabs 360a and 360c. The distance between the tabs 360b and 360c is approxi¬ mately the same as the diameter of the lip 354 of the can 324.

When the tabs 360 are arranged as just described, the can 324 may be brought into contact with the bottom 332 of the plate holder 330 (line segment A in FIG. 15) and laterally displaced between the tabs 360b and 360c towards the tab 360a (line segment B in FIG. 15) . When the can 324 is aligned with the center of the plate holder, the lip 354 of the can 324 comes into contact with the downwardly extending portion 362 of the tab 360a, as shown in FIG. 16.

The tabs 360a, 360b, and 360c thus couple the can 324 to the plate holder 330 in a manner that allows relative movement between the can 324 and the plate holder 330 only along the line segment B shown in FIG. 15; movement in all other directions is prevented. The tabs 360b and 360c may also be arranged so that they deflect slightly when the widest part of the can 324 passes therebetween and then return to their original position when the can lip 354 engages the tab 360a. Tabs so arranged engage the can lip 354 and establish a positive locking action that inhibits unintended movement of the can 324 relative to the plate holder 330. Friction between the can lip 354 and the bottom surface 332 of the plate holder 330

further inhibits movement of the can along the line segment B.

To indicate the direction in which the can 324 must be displaced to couple it to the plate holder 330, indicia 370 may be formed on a rim 372 extending radially outwardly from the top of the plate holder side wall 342. Handles 374 and 376 may also be formed on the rim 372 on opposing sides of the plate holder 330 to facilitate handling of the plate-and-glass assembly 320. The rim 372 increases the structural strength of the plate holder 330.

The plate-and-glass assembly 320 described above: (a) may be cheaply and conveniently manufac¬ tured; (b ) provides a stable apparatus for eating and drinking when no surface is available on which a beverage can may be placed; (c) allows disposable plates to be used while at the same time allows the beverage can to be coupled with a plate holder which supports the disposable plates; and (d) allows plate holders to be stacked together in a space efficient manner.

Referring now to FIGS. 17 and 18, depicted therein at 420 is another exemplary plate-and-glass assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention. The plate-and-glass assembly 420 is constructed and used in a manner similar to that of the plate-and-glass assembly 320 described above, so the plate-and-glass assembly 420 will be described below only to the extent that it differs from the assembly 320. For purposes of clarity and brevity, reference characters identifying elements of the plate-and-glass assembly 420 will be the same as those

used to identify corresponding elements of the plate- and-glass assembly 320 plus one hundred.

The primary difference between the plate- and-glass holders of the exemplary assemblies 320 and 420 is that the glass holder 426 is not integrally formed with the plate holder 430. Instead, the glass holder 426 comprises a disc-shaped mounting plate 478 and an array of three mounting wedges 480. The mounting wedges 480 are attached to a bottom surface 482 of the mounting plate 478 in a triangular configu¬ ration like that of the tabs 360 of the assembly 320. Like the configuration of tabs 360, the configuration of wedges 480 allows relative lateral displacement between the can 424 and the plate holder 430 only in one direction.

The mounting plate 478 and wedges 480 are formed of any material mentioned above as being available for forming the plate holder 430. The wedges 480 are bonded to the mounting plate bottom surface 482 by any appropriate means for bonding the materials employed to form the wedges 480 and the mounting plate 478. Similarly, the mounting plate 478 is bonded to the plate holder bottom surface 432 by means appropriate for bonding materials employed to form the mounting plate 478 and plate holder 430.

As shown in FIG. 18, the wedges 480 each comprise an upper portion 462 and a lower, radially inwardly extending portion 464. The mounting portion 462 is attached to the mounting plate 478, while the inwardly extending portion 464 engages the lip 454 of the beverage can 424.

In this exemplary plate-and-glass assembly 320, when the can 424 is coupled to the plate holder

430, the lip 454 thereof is trapped between the inwardly extending portions 464 of the wedges 480 and the bottom surface 482 of the mounting plate 478; the can 424 thus does not come into direct contact with the plate holder 430.

The mounting plate 478 and wedges 480 may be inexpensively formed by injection or other appropriate molding process. They may be attached together as described above and then: (a) attached to a plate holder at the factory; or (b) included in an upgrade kit to retrofit an existing plate holder 430 with the properties of a plate-and-glass assembly as described herein.

Shown in FIG. 19 is yet another exemplary plate holder 530 of plate-and-glass assembly con¬ structed in accordance with, and embodying, the present invention. This plate holder 530 is con¬ structed and used in a manner generally similar to that of the plate holder 330 of the assembly 320; accordingly, the plate holder 530 will be described below only to the extent that it materially differs from the plate holder 330. Reference characters identifying elements of the plate holder 530 will be the same as those used to identify corresponding elements of the plate holder 330 plus two hundred.

The plate holder 530 may be fabricated from the same types of materials as plate holder 330, with components of that character ejection or otherwise molded from a thermoplastic polymer and those fabri- cated from a cellulosic pulp by the forming technique employed for egg cartons and comparable artifacts typically being preferred because they are inexpen¬ sively and easily manufactured.

The glass holder 526 of the plate holder 530 is formed by a semi-circular slot 578 incorporated in the depicted plate holder 530. A beverage container is rectilinearly displaced into this slot 578 during the course of assembling the plate holder 530 and the container. This slot 578 comprises a closed end 580 so located that the center of the slot 578 is coinci¬ dent with: (a) the center 582 of the plate holder 530, and (b) the axis of symmetry of the associated container when the plate and container are assembled together. By thus centering the slot 578, maximum stability is imparted to plate-and-glass assembly constructed therewith.

The U-shaped slot 578 of the glass holder 526 is bounded by a downwardly and then radially inwardly extending flange 584. This flange 584 engages the lip of the beverage container associated with the plate holder 530 in a manner similar to that in which the locking tabs 360 and wedges 480 engage the container lips 454 and 554.

The flange 584 is formed by a die-punch process similar to that described above in relation to the locking tabs 360. This die-punch process results in a semi-circular hole 586 being formed in the plate holder 530.

Another exemplary plate-and-glass assembly 620 illustrative of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 and will now be described. This plate-and-glass assembly 620 operates in the same basic manner as the plate-and-glass assembly 320 described above, so the plate-and-glass assembly 620 will be described below only to the extent that it differs from the assembly 320. As before, reference

characters identifying elements of the plate-and-glass assembly 620 will be the same as those used to identi¬ fy generally corresponding elements of the plate-and- glass assembly 320, but in the following discussion the reference characters will be increased by three hundred.

The primary difference between the plate- and-glass assemblies 320 and 620 is the construction of the beverage container 624. The beverage container 624 is an insulated container having a closed bottom end 646 and an open top end 648. The open top end 648 may be closed by a cap 678.

The cap 678 generally comprises a top portion 680 and a cylindrical wall 682 downwardly extending from the top portion 680. An inner surface 684 of the wall 682 in threaded at 686. This threaded surface 684 is designed to mate with a threaded portion 688 on an outer surface 690 of the beverage container 624. The cap 678 may thus be attached to the container 624 in a manner t at substantially prevents leakage of the beverage contained therein between these surfaces 684 and 690.

Formed in the top portion 680 of the cap 678 is an orifice 692 and a slot 694. The orifice 692 extends upwardly through the center of the top portion 680. The slot 694 extends radially outwardly from the orifice 692. The orifice 692 allows a portion of a straw 696 to be inserted into the interior of the beverage container 624. The straw 696 has a first straight portion

696a, a first flexible portion 696b, second straight portion 696c, a second flexible portion 696d, and a third straight portion 696e. The first straight

portion 696a extends through the orifice 692 into the interior of the container 624. The first flexible portion 696b allows the straw 696 to bend so that the second straight portion can lie within the slot 694 parallel to the bottom surface 632 of the plate holder 630. The second flexible portion 696d is positioned to allow the straw 696 to bend so that the third straight portion 696e can extend upwardly through a hole 698 in the handle 674 of the plate holder 630. Also formed on the top portion 680 of the cap 678 is an annular recess 658. A bottom surface 700 of this recess 658 is coplanar with the bottom surface 702 of the slot 694. Additionally, a distance between the top surface 704 of the top portion 680 and the bottom surfaces 700 and 702 is slightly greater than the diameter of the straw 696.

The plate-and-glass assembly 620 is assem¬ bled for use in the following manner. Initially, the cap 678 is screwed onto the container 624. The first straight portion 696a of the straw is next inserted into the container 624 through the orifice 692 in the cap 678. The straw 696 is then bent at the first flexible portion 696b so that part of the second straight portion 696c lays in the slot 694. The container 624 and cap 678 are then brought into contact with the bottom surface 632 of the plate holder 630 and displaced laterally relative to the plate holder 630 along line segment C in FIG. 20 towards the locking tab 660a until the cap 678 con- tacts the tab 660a. The locking tabs 660 engage the recess 658 in the cap 678 in a manner that holds the cap 678 against the plate holder bottom surface 632.

The container 624 is thus securely coupled to the plate holder 630. At this point, part of the second straight portion 696c of the straw 696 resides in a passageway formed by the walls of the slot 694 and the bottom surface 632 of the plate holder 630. The third straight portion 696e of the straw 696 may then be threaded through the straw hole 698 along the line segment D depicted in FIG. 20.

At this point, the plate-and-glass assembly 620 may be used to support food on the upper surface of the plate 328 and supply beverage through the straw 696.

To assemble the plate-and-glass assembly 620 for transportation and storage, the process just described is followed except that the straw 696 is not inserted through the orifice 692 in the cap 678 or the straw hole 698 in the plate holder handle 674. Instead, once the container 624 is coupled to the plate holder 630, the container 624 is rotated until the slot 694 is covered by one of the locking tabs 660. The beverage within the container 624 will not slosh out of the container 624 through the orifice 692 and slot 694 when it is subjected to the jolts that may be expected during normal transportation. Closed- cell foam or other sealing material may also be provided on the inner surfaces of the locking tabs 660 to seal the slot 694.

Another exemplary plate-and-glass assembly is depicted at 720 in FIGS. 22 and 23. This plate- and-glass assembly 720 operates in the same basic manner as the plate-and-glass assembly 320 described above; the plate-and-glass assembly 720 will thus be described below only to the extent that it differs

from the assembly 320. Reference characters identify¬ ing elements of the plate-and-glass assembly 720 will be the same as those used to identify generally corresponding elements of the plate-and-glass assembly 320; however, in the following discussion the refer¬ ence characters will be increased by four hundred.

In the plate-and-glass assembly 720, a first beverage container 724a and a second beverage contain¬ er 724b are supported by the glass holder 726 below the plate assembly 730. In general, the first bever¬ age container 724a is nested within the second bever¬ age container 724b; the glass holder 726 then couples the second beverage container to the bottom surface 732 of the plate holder 730. More particularly, the first and second beverage containers 724a and 724b are provided with corresponding first and second caps 778a and 778b. These caps 778a and 778b are adapted to lock onto and substantially cover the open upper ends 748a and 748b of the containers 724a and 724b. Also, formed adja¬ cent to the upper surfaces 780a and 780b of the caps 778a and 778b are coupling discs 782a and 782b. As shown in FIG. 22, these coupling discs 782a and 782b are attached to these upper surfaces 780a and 780b by disc-shaped connecting portions 784a and 784b which are coaxially aligned with, and have a slightly smaller diameter than, the coupling discs 782a and 782b. This arrangement creates annular recesses 758a and 758b on the caps 778a and 778b into which the radially inwardly extending portions 764 of the locking tabs 760 extend to couple the caps 778a and 778b to the plate holder 730.

One example of the use of the plate-and- glass assembly 720 is as follows. Initially, a beverage is poured into the first beverage container 724a. The first cap 778a is then locked into place over the open end 748a of the first container 724a. The entire first container 724a and the cap 778a are then placed within the second container 724b. The second cap 778b is then locked into place over the open end 748b of the second container 724b. The second container 724b is then brought into contact with the lower surface 732 of the plate holder 730 and displaced laterally between the locking tabs 760a and 760b towards the locking tab 760a. The radially inwardly extending portions 764 of the locking tabs 760 enter the recess 758b and engage the coupling disc 782b on the second cap 778b. The second cap 778b is securely held by the locking tabs 760 and the second container 724b is thus coupled to the plate holder 730. The plate assembly 722 and the beverage contain- ers 724a and 724b are thus assembled into the plate- and-glass assembly 720 for storage and/or transporta¬ tion.

After the assembly 720 is transported to its destination, the beverage containers 724a and 724b are decoupled from the plate holder 730 by sliding the second beverage container 724b away from the locking tab 760a and out between the locking tabs 760b and 760c so that these tabs 760 no longer engage the coupling disc 782b. The second cap 778b is then detached from and the first container 724b is removed from within the second container 724b. The first container 724a may then be brought into contact with the bottom surface 732 of the plate holder 730 and

displaced laterally towards the locking tab 760a between the locking tabs 760b and 760c; the radially inwardly extending projections 764 thus enter the annular recess 758a, allowing the tabs 760 to engage the coupling disc 782a. The first container 724a is thus securely coupled to the plate holder 730, and the plate-and-glass assembly formed thereby may be used in the normal fashion.

It should be specifically noted that caps 778a and 778b are designed in a manner that allows containers of differing diameters to be coupled to plate assemblies having a glass holder constructed to accommodate only one diameter of beverage container. Even if nested containers such as the containers 724a and 724b shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 are not employed, caps such as caps 778a and 778b may be employed as adapters to connect a variety of di ferent container styles to a single glass holder.

For example, referring again to FIG. 23, it can be seen that a locking mechanism 786a employed to lock the first cap 778a to the first container 724a is different from a locking mechanism 786b employed to lock the second cap 778b to the second container 724b. Specifically, the locking mechanism 786a may be characterized as a friction fitting which primarily employs friction to lock the first cap 778a to the first container 724a. On the other hand, the locking mechanism 786b may be characterized as a detent-type fitting that uses a projection 788 on the cap 778b which deflects radially outwardly during locking and returns to its original position when the cap 778b is locked into place. By appropriate design of the caps

778a and 778b, both of these locking mechanisms 786a and 786b may be accommodated in coupling the contain¬ ers 724a and 724b to a single glass holder 726.

Also, any number of methods for inserting a straw into the beverage containers may be employed in this plate-and-glass assembly 720. For example, a first straw hole 788a is spaced radially outwardly from the center of the cap 778a. A second straw hole 788b is additional placed in the center of the cap 778b. The placement of such straw holes may be chosen as appropriate for a given set of circumstances.

Yet another plate-and-glass assembly exem¬ plary of the present invention is indicated at 820 in FIGS. 24-26. This assembly 820 is constructed and operates in a manner basically the same as the plate- and-glass assembly 320 described above; the plate-and- glass assembly 820 will thus be described below only to the extent that it differs from the assembly 320. Reference characters identifying elements of the plate-and-glass assembly 820 will be the same as those used to identify generally corresponding elements of the plate-and-glass assembly 320; however, in the following discussion, the reference characters will be increased by five hundred. The plate-and-glass assembly 820 comprises a glass holder 826 that is designed to attach contain¬ ers 824 of various sizes to the bottom surface 832 of the plate holder 830. Beverage containers may be sold in a plurality of diameters. For example, aluminum cans are currently available in the United States 202, 204, and 206 sizes. While it is not specifically relevant to the present invention, these sizes refer to can diameters of 2 2/16", 2 4/16", and 2 6/16",

respectively. Because of the relatively slight differences in can size, the consumer is generally not aware of the can size when purchasing a canned bever¬ age; however, for a plate-and-glass assembly to operate effectively, these various can sizes must be accommodated by the plate-and-glass assembly with little effort, skill, or attention on the part of the consumer.

Referring now more particularly to the glass holder 826, this holder 826 comprises first and second elongate tabs 878 and 880 and a short tab 882. A container receiving area 884 is defined between the elongate tabs 878 and 880. The short tab 882 is so arranged relative to the elongate tabs 878 and 880 that the tab 882 closes an end 884a of the area 884, a second end 884b of the area 884 being open to allow the beverage container 824 to enter the area 884.

The elongate tabs 878 and 880 comprise lower rail portions 886 and 888 and bridge portions 890 and 892. Still referring to FIG. 24, ends 886a,b and 888a,b of the rail portions 886 and 888 are attached to, or integrally formed with, the bottom surface 832. The bridge portions 890 and 892 are arranged between centers 886c and 888c of the rail portions 886 and 888 and the bottom surface 832. The short tab 882 com¬ prises a first portion 894 that extends downwardly from the bottom surface 832 and a second portion 896 that inwardly extends from the lower end of the first portion 894. As with the other embodiments, the beverage container 824 is raised along line A and then lateral¬ ly displaced along line B into the container receiving area 884 through the opening 884b (FIG. 24) . As shown

in FIGS. 26A and 26B, the rails 888 and 890 extend into recesses 858 defined by the container rim 850, lip 854, and portion connecting the rim 350 to the container exterior wall 852. The rails 888 and 890 engage the lip 854 to prevent downward movement of the container 824 relative to the plate holder 830.

The glass holder 836 is able to accommodate cans of various diameters because the rails 888 and 890 deflect when cans with larger diameters are placed in the receiving area 884. Specifically, FIGS. 25 and 26A depict a situation in which a beverage container 824a of relatively smaller diameter is attached to the plate holder 830, while FIGS. 27 and 26B show a relatively larger diameter container 824b attached to the holder 830. A comparison of FIGS. 26A and 26B shows that the rails 888 and 890 are deflected out¬ wardly when the larger container 824b is held thereby. It should be noted that both the rail portions 888 and 890 and the bridge portions 892 and 894 must be made of resilient, elastic material that allows the above- described deflection.

A glass holder of yet another plate-and- glass assembly that accommodates beverage containers of various diameters is depicted at 926 in FIGS. 28 and 29. The assembly partially depicted in FIG. 28 is similar in construction and assembly to the assembly 320 described above.

The glass holder 926 comprises first and second elongate tabs 978 and 980 and a short tab 982. The elongate tabs comprise rail portions 984 and 986 and bridge portions 988 and 990. The short tab 982 comprises a first portion 992 that extends downwardly from the bottom surface 932 and a second portion 994

that inwardly extends from the lower end of the irst portion 992.

Formed on the rail portions 984 and 986 are curved surfaces 984a,b and 986a,b. A first container receiving area 996a is defined between the surfaces 984a and 986a, and a first container receiving area 996b is defined between the surfaces 984b and 986b. Stop notches 984c and 986c are also formed on the rails 984 and 986 for reasons which will be described below.

The curved surfaces 984a and 986a form a part of a first circle having a diameter slightly larger than that of a first beverage 924a can at the rim portion thereof. Similarly, the curved surfaces 984b and 986b form a part of a second circle having a diameter slightly larger than that of a second bever¬ age can 924b at the rim portion thereof. In the exemplary glass holder 926, as shown in FIG. 29, the diameter of the first circle is greater than that of the second circle, allowing a relatively larger beverage can (e.g., size 206) 924a to be affixed to the lower surface 932 in the first receiving area and a relatively smaller beverage can (e.g., size 204) 924b to be affixed to the lower surface 932 in the second receiving area.

More particularly, if the smaller beverage can 924b is inserted between the rails 984 and 986 and the bottom surface 932, the can 924b is able to pass between the stop notches 984c and 986c and enter the second container receiving area 996b. The rails 984 and 986 must deflect slightly outwardly to allow passage of a smaller can 924b into the receiving area

996b. The short tab 982 stops the smaller can 924b to hold the can 924b in the receiving area 996b.

On the other hand, if a relatively larger can 924a is inserted between the rails 984 and 986 and the bottom surface 932, the diameter of the larger can 924a is such that the can 924a cannot pass by the stop notches 984c and 986c; the relatively larger can 924a is thus firmly held in the first receiving area 996a. Another exemplary glass holder 1026 shown in FIGS. 30 and 31 is essentially the same as the holder 926 except that the holder 1026 is designed to accom¬ modate three different can sizes: 1024a, 1024b, and 1024c. Defined between rails 1084 and 1086 are three receiving areas 1096a, 1096b, and 1096c basically the same as the receiving areas 996a and 996b. These cans 1024a, 1024b, and 1024c could, for example, correspond to can sizes 206, 204, and 202 described above.

As is generally depicted in FIGS. 30 and 31, the rails 984, 986, 1084, and 1086 extend into recess- es and abut lips in the beverage cans in the same basic manner depicted in, for example, FIGS. 26A and 26B.

Another consideration when implementing the glass holders 926 and 1026 is the exact placement of these holders on the bottom surfaces 932 and 1032. Specifically, at least one of the container-receiving areas must be located off-center, creating a poten¬ tially unstable situation if the plate-and-glass assembly is set down. This minor problem can be alleviated by arranging the receiving area sized to accept the most commonly available beverage can so that it is centrally arranged on the bottom surface. Thus, in the majority of the cases, the location of

the container relative to the plate will not cause instability.

Caps such as 678, 778a, and 778b may also be designed to adapt styles of beverage containers other than those shown, such as the can 324 of the plate- and-glass assembly 320, to a generic size glass holder.

In another situation, it may be appropriate to provide a radially extending slot such as the slot 694 of the assembly 620 to caps such as the caps 778a and 778b of the assembly 720.

Another aspect of the invention is that it could easily be adapted for use as a frisbee-like flying disc. Thus, the invention may be embodied in many forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodi¬ ments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description; and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.