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Impact collapsible non-rigid lap tray with four surrounding high sides

a non-rigid, lap tray technology, applied in the direction of bedside tables, furniture parts, domestic applications, etc., can solve the problems of less access when needed, awkward storage of rigid tray, safety hazards in automobiles, etc., and achieve the effect of convenient cleaning

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-12-06
GRANT MARGARET JEAN
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]The present invention provides an impact collapsible lap tray, made of non-rigid, flexible material having high sides surrounding an open cavity with no partitions, that is easy to clean, is temperature resistant, and is flexible enough to collapse on impact and roll up to store away.

Problems solved by technology

However, the rigid lap tray is likely to cause a safety hazard within an automobile if an airbag were to deploy either from the front of the car or from the sides in rear seats, where a rigid lap tray would be in the path of the airbag.
In addition, storing a rigid tray is awkward within the interior of a car making it less accessible when needed.
It does not address the use of a lap tray requiring high sides to keep food, cell phones, toys, or other items from disbursing.
Also it is collapsible on hinges rather than flexible nature of the composing material.
Although this Lap tray is made of a flexible sheet of material, it is limited to an age requiring a bib and most likely not used within a travelling automobile, but in a highchair.

Method used

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  • Impact collapsible non-rigid lap tray with four surrounding high sides
  • Impact collapsible non-rigid lap tray with four surrounding high sides
  • Impact collapsible non-rigid lap tray with four surrounding high sides

Examples

Experimental program
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Embodiment Construction

[0016]The preferred embodiment in this invention for the lap tray is to use a silicone material, the method comprising the steps of: providing the lap tray with a bottom base, side walls extending upwardly generally at right angles from the bottom base, each side wall having a peripheral inwardly projecting or outwardly projecting flange, with side walls encapsulating the base. The lap tray is a generally rectangular shape and departs from this form at the rear side of the base where the walls form a semicircular inset into the rear side. The lap tray is made with stabilizing flaps (FIGS. 1-4, 15) having two attachment options in the lap tray for children, and fixed flaps in the lap tray for general use. The stabilizing flaps for children have a series of half-circle rows on one side to add weight and flexibility. The flaps are designed to travel straight out over a car seat or booster seat arm, and then flop downward. On the underside of the lap tray as seen in FIG. 4, base 10a, se...

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Abstract

The present invention relates to lap trays, specifically to non-rigid automobile lap trays with four surrounding high sides, constructed from FDA-approved materials for safe contact with food, having properties available to withstand temperatures greater than 200° F. The non-rigid automobile lap tray is formed through one of several processes: they can be compression molded or transfer molded if a rubber or silicone material is used, or injection molded with non-rigid plastic materials.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefits of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 808,853, filed on May 30, 2006 entitled “NON-RIGID LAP TRAY WITH FOUR SURROUNDING HIGH SIDES”.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to an impact collapsible lap tray composed of FDA approved flexible, non-rigid material for safe contact with food. In addition, these materials must be temperature resistant. The temperature resistance prevents the melting of the lap tray in climates of extreme temperatures within an automobile interior, or during the course of cleaning the lap tray in a dishwasher. Moreover, the flexible nature of the material allows a roll up to store away the lap tray.[0003]The most common travel lap tray designs incorporate a flat rigid material as a base, generally have the option to hold a drink container, and exhibit a small edge around the periphery. Overkamp, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,532, and Neville in U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,933 show rigid T...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): A47B13/00
CPCA47G23/0608A47B23/002
Inventor GRANT, MARGARET JEAN
Owner GRANT MARGARET JEAN
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