Cup holder

Abstract

A cup holder for holding a container or drink on seats in arenas, stadiums and other public venues. The holder has an engagement portion that holds the rear side of the seat, a basket for holding a container therein and a strip extending therebetween. The holder is provided with a hinge between the basket and the strip to allow the holder to be collapsed. The holder further is provided with a flange for preventing rearward movement of the holder when it is attached to a seat. The strip may be a set length or may comprise a pair of telescoping members to allow for the holder to fit over varying seat widths.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to a cup holder for holding a cup or other drinking container on a seat, such as a stadium bench seat, a folding seat and various other seats. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] A problem that exists in many public events is the lack of holders for placing drinks. A number of venues, such as professional sports arenas, outdoor theatres, and high school and local sports parks, provide bench type seating for the spectators, wherein the spectators sit on long benches, each spectator sitting in close quarters to the spectator directly on either side. Other venues provide for folding chairs where each spectator has his or her own chair. Naturally, spectators would like to have a beverage of some sort to enjoy during these performances. However, the crowded nature of the seating arrangements and / or the lack of any holder for drinks requires placing the beverages on the ground, wedging them in between spectators, placing them in precario...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004] It is thus an object of this invention to overcome the problems associated with the prior art and provide a cup holder for bench or folding seats that can effectively hold a beverage without the holder interfering with the spectator sitting in the seat and to provide a holder that cannot easily be bumped off the seat.

[0005] These and other objects are carried out and the problems overcome with a holder having a basket for holding the container near a front of the seat, a strip extending from the basket extending along the upper surface of the seat and a u-shaped portion engaging a rear portion. The basket holds the container lower than the seating surface to prevent the holder or the drink from interfering with the spectators sitting near the holder. The lower held basket also prevents the holder from being inadvertently moved towards the rear of the seat, preventing the u-shaped portion from disengaging from the seat. The u-shaped portion at the rear portion of the holder prevents the strip from coming off the seat and provides leverage to hold the container.

[0007] In another preferred embodiment, the holder has a flange portion that extends a distance from the basket. The flange prevents the holder from being inadvertently moved towards the rear of the seat, preventing the u-shaped portion from disengaging from the seat. It also allows for the container to be held by the holder a distance from the seat.

[0008] In another preferred embodiment, the basket and the flange are hinge coupled to the strip allowing for the holder to be folded for easier storage and carrying. A tab on the basket engages a slot in the strip so that the flange and basket can be locked against the strip.

Problems solved by technology

A problem that exists in many public events is the lack of holders for placing drinks.

However, the crowded nature of the seating arrangements and / or the lack of any holder for drinks requires placing the beverages on the ground, wedging them in between spectators, placing them in precarious positions, or holding them for the duration of the event, all of which can lead to spilled drinks or the drinks simply being in the way.

A problem with this holder, however, is that it holds an upper portion of the container above the seating surface in the way of a spectator sitting near the holder with a container therein, requiring the holder to be placed between spectators or between the legs of a spectator sitting on the seat.

A further problem with such a holder is that a minor bump against the holder pushing the holder in a direction towards the rear portion of the seat would unhook the engagement portion from the seat causing the holder to fall from the seat.

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