BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION In the following description, the term sandwich is used to denote sandwiches and all other types of food products or substances to which the apparatus of the present invention is applicable.

When eating sandwiches many people, both young and old, have difficulty grasping the sandwich to ensure that the sandwich and its contents are able to be eaten. In the case of people suffering from arthritis, physical disabilities or similar complaint, there is the problem that not enough pressure is applied to the sandwich to ensure that the contents of the sandwich do not fall out from between the two slices of bread. This can also be a problem with all people including children if the contents of the sandwich is not compacted into an easy to hold sandwich.

In the case where hygiene is a problem with respect to workers or manual labourers with soiled hands, and who are not able to clean their hands completely, the provision of a food holding apparatus would be advantageous.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a sandwich or other food holding apparatus which substantially overcomes or ameliorates the above mentioned disadvantages. At the very least, the object of the invention is to provide an alternative to known ways of holding food to be eaten with hygiene and easy handling.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a food holding apparatus having a pair of flexible opposed members adapted to abut against a food substance such as a sandwich or the like with the food substance positioned between said pair of opposed members with each said opposed member comprising at least two adjacent portions wherein at least one of said adjacent portions is a deformable tongue means; and ajoining member between said opposed members to hold same in opposed formation, wherein said pair of opposed members allow access for the food substance to be eaten whilst positioned between said pair of opposed members whereby the deformable tongue means are able to be deformed from a position in contact with the sandwich or like food substance to a position spaced apart from the sandwich or like food substance in an outwards direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sandwich holding apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 1 showing a sandwich held therein; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a roll holding apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 6 is a side view of the roll holding apparatus of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a sandwich holding apparatus according to another preferred embodiment; Fig. 8 is a view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 7 shown in a flat arrangement prior to being arranged to receive a sandwich; Fig. 9 is a view of a stamp of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 7 prior to full assembly; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a roll holding apparatus according to another preferred embodiment; Fig. 11 is a view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 10 shown in a flat arrangement prior to being arranged to receive a sandwich; Fig. 12 is a view of a stamp of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 10 prior to full assembly; Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a sandwich holding apparatus according to another preferred embodiment; Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 13 shown with removable flaps removed; Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 13 shown with removable flaps partially removed;

Fig. 16 is a further perspective view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 13 shown with removable flaps more fully partially removed; Fig. 17 is a schematic side view of the perspective view of Fig. 15; Fig. 18 is a schematic side view of the perspective view of Fig. 16; Fig. 19 is a perspective view of a of a sandwich holding apparatus according to another preferred embodiment shown with the two sides flat against each other; Fig. 20 is a series of bottom views of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 19 showing the expansion of the apparatus to receive different size sandwiches; Fig. 21 is a perspective view ofa of a sandwich holding apparatus according to another preferred; Fig. 22 is a side view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 21; Fig. 23 is an end view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 21; Fig. 24 is a bottom view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 21; Fig. 25 is a view of a stamp of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 21 prior to full assembly; Fig. 26 is a side view of a of a sandwich holding apparatus according to another preferred; and Fig. 27 is an end view of the sandwich holding apparatus of Fig. 26.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A sandwich holder 10 of a preferred embodiment has a pair of opposed members or portions 11 with a foldable connecting member or portion 12. In this preferred embodiment the foldable connecting portion 12 takes the form of a concertina arrangement, however, all other forms of a foldable connecting portion are also envisaged within the scope of the present invention.

The opposed portions 11 are preferably made from thin sheet material and are arranged to be folded flat against each other when the holder 10 is in its folded non-use configuration and to be substantially parallel and spaced apart by a sandwich 13 as seen in its use configuration in Fig. 4 with the opposed portions 11 abutting against the sandwich 13.

The opposed portions 11 both comprise a base portion 14 and a deformable tongue 15 extending therefrom.

The base portions 14 in this embodiment consist of two substantially straight fingers 16 with a 90 degree bend 17 therebetween and as seen in the drawings the deformable tongue 15 extends from the bend area 17 at an angle of 45 degrees from the fingers 16.

The connecting portion 12 consists of the concertina arrangement with flanges 18 fixing it to the base portions 14. The connecting portion 12 is also arranged with a 90 degree bend in it to align with the base portions 14.

The deformable tongue 15 is seen to be wider at its free end 19 and has a small curved flange 20 extending outwardly therefrom. The tongue 15 is preferably formed such that it firmly holds onto the sandwich 13 as well as being relatively easily deformed away from the sandwich against any spring in its material. In the drawings the tongue is seen to have holes 21 formed therein, however these holes are merely decorative or to reduce the amount of material being used.

In the bend area 17, the base portions 14 have depressible segments 22 which are depressible from the sides of the base portions 14. These depressible segments 22 are used when eating the sandwich 13 as will now be described.

The sandwich 13 is placed against the connecting portion 12 and the two opposing portions 11 are pushed towards each other to thereby hold the sandwich 13. The sandwich 13 is seen from Fig. 4 to be held along two sides by the connecting portion 12 with the corner being held at the bend area 17. This is the preferred arrangement, but the present invention is not limited to this arrangement as the sandwich 13 can be held in any suitable manner. Once the sandwich 13 is so held by the holder 10 as the concertina of the connecting portion is folded inwardly, the user is able to grasp the holder 10 without their hands coming into contact with the actual sandwich 13. It is seen that different thicknesses of sandwiches 13 can be accommodated by the holder 10 as the concertina arrangement of the foldable connecting portion allows varying widths thereof.

The sandwich is able to be eaten by taking bites from the sandwich protruding from the holder 10. The deformable tongue 15 is able to be bent out of the way of the bites to be taken by depressing the depressible segments 22 in the base portions 14 which forces the opposed portions 11 towards each other adjacent the bend area 17 thus causing the sandwich 13 to rise away from this area 17 and also forcing apart the deformable tongues 15. The sandwich 13 can thus be eaten without the hands coming into contact with the actual sandwich as well as ensuring a sufficient apparatus to grasp hold of. The holder 10 also ensures that the contents of the sandwich 13 does not fall out of the holder as it is prevented from doing so by the connecting portion 12. When the depressible segments 22 are released by the user, the opposed portions 11 return to their rest use position and therefore, the sandwich falls to its position against the connecting portion Il.

The holder 10 can be made from plastics, cardboards or papers and can be disposed of after one use or can be re-used as required. The dimensions of the holder 10 are such that a sandwich 13 of different sizes of sliced bread can be held thereby.

A food holder 30 suitable for rolls, hamburgers or the like is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. The holder is similar to the holder 10 in that it has a pair of opposed portions 31 with a foldable connecting portion 32 therebetween. The opposed sides 31 both comprise a curved based portion 34 and a deformable tongue 35.

Depressible segments 42 in the base portions are similar to the same ones in the previously described embodiment.

This holder 30 is used in the same way as the holder 10 except that it is used to hold rounded food substances as compared with the squarish food substances such as a sandwich 13.

A food holder 40 of a further embodiment which is suitable for sandwiches or the like is illustrated in Figs. 7 to 9. The holder 40 has opposed sides 41 with a connecting portion 42. In this embodiment the connecting portion 42 is relatively flexible when compared to the stiffer side portions 41. The opposed sides 41 are similarly made from thin sheet material and can be folded flat as seen in Fig. 7 or folded flat against each other in a folded non-use configuration.

The opposed sides 41 each have a base portion 44 and deformable tongue 45 similar to the aforedescribed embodiments. Straight fingers 46 of the base portion 44 have a 90 degree bend 47 therebetween where the connecting portion 42 is located. The connecting portion has scored ribs 48 which are adapted to form a trough when in its use configuration as seen in Fig. 7. The deformable tongue 45 operates in the same manner as previously described with the bend 47 being able to be pressed between two fingers of the person using the holder 40 to thereby extract the food substance from the trough which is formed by the connecting portion 42.

The deformable tongue 45 in this embodiment has a couple of scored ribs 49 which assists in its deformation to provide access to the sandwich when being eaten.

The opposed sheet portions 41 of the holder 40 are adapted to be stamped from flat sheets of material such as plastics or cardboard and the like and one such stamping arrangement is shown in Fig. 9 where four opposed sheet portions 41 are stamped together. The connecting portion 42 which is preferably made from thinner or more flexible material is added after the stamped pieces are separated.

A food holder 50 of a still further embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 10 to 12. This holder 51 is substantially the same as the food holder 40 except that it is more rounded for being used to eat a roll or other rounded food substance. The numbered portions 50-59 correspond to the numbers 40-49 as described above.

A food holder 60 of a still further embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 13 to 18. This holder 60 is formed as a box and also has two opposed sides 61 with a connecting portion 62. In this box holder 60, a lid 63 is arranged to cover the opening to the holder 60.

Each opposed side 61 includes a base 64 with a deformable tongue 65 being formed in the side 61, the deformable tongue 65 being detachable from the base by perforations 63 which are able to be cut. The base 64 includes two parallel fingers 66 with a square end 67. The connecting portion 62 and the tongues 65 both have corresponding scored ribs 68 and 69 respectively which work in the same manner as previously described.

However, in this embodiment, the lid 63 is formed by the free ends of the tongues 65 which have a complementary tab and slot arrangement 71 with side tabs 72 being arranged such that the lid 63 can be closed.

In this embodiment, the tongues 65 can be partially or full removed according to the requirements of the person using the holder 60. This holder 60 is preferably made from cardboard and made into the box arrangement for the sale of food products such as sandwiches, hamburgers and the like.

A holder 80 of a still further embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 19 to 20. This holder 80 is similarly formed as a box as in the last previously described embodiment except that in this embodiment there is no lid and the connecting portion is expandable from a flat arrangement to the extended use position. The numbering 80-89 corresponds to the numbering 60-69 of the last previously described embodiment.

A food holder 100 of a further embodiment which is suitable for sandwiches, hamburgers or the like is illustrated in Figs. 21 to 25. The holder 100 has opposed sides 101 with a connecting portion 102 comprising two end portions 103 and a bottom portion 104.

The opposed sides 101 each have two slits 105 cut therein so that a middle portion 106 acts as a deformable tongue as described before. Perforations 107 are located in the food holder 100 so that the user can grasp the holder 100 as well as providing a portion which is able to be squeezed to extract the food substance.

The holder 100 is adapted to be stamped from flat sheets of material such as plastics or cardboard and the like and one such stamping arrangement is shown in Fig. 25 where a single holder is stamped. The stamp of the holder 100 includes tabs 108 which interact with slits in the stamp so that the holder can be easily assembled into its use arrangement.

Another food holder 110 is illustrated in Figs. 26 and 27. This holder 110 is basically two of the holders 100 connected with a hinged arrangement such that it is formed into a closed container which can be used to store food to be sold.

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention, and modifications obvious to those skilled in the art can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.