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(11) | EP 1 808 103 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Advertising support for displaying food items on counters and the like |
| (57) Advertising support for displaying food items on counters and the like in bars, cafeterias
and elsewhere, constituted by a transparent and semirigid laminar body that performs
a function similar to that of the glass cases used to display and protect food items.
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OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a support specifically conceived for use in bars, restaurants and the like, particularly on the counters of these establishments, carrying out a similar function to the conventional glass cases that display and protect the food items, generally placed on plates, trays and the like.
[0002] The object of this invention is to obtain an economical support, the cost of which can be allayed by the advertising it bears, to the extent of constituting a single-use element that also allows to leave the counter of the establishment free and clear at any time when it is temporarily needed for a different purpose.
[0003] A further object of the invention is a support that can be stored in an inoperative situation occupying a minimum, practically negligible volume, by means of adopting a laminar disposition.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] For obvious hygiene reasons, food items generally offered to the public in bars, cafeterias and the like must be properly protected from the users of the establishment, given their proximity to one another and the likelihood that one or several of said customers can, as a result of their health condition, generate microorganisms that will attach to the food and reach the persons who later eat this food.
[0005] For this purpose, glass cases of varying sizes are used such that the plates or trays containing the food are introduced in them, allowing the food to be seen by the customers through the transparent walls of the case, said walls also protecting the food.
[0006] This solution is fully satisfactory as regards the essential characteristics sought. This is, regarding the visibility of the food by the customers and the protection of the food from said customers. However, these cases have the following main drawbacks:
They constitute bulky and heavy objects, being hard to handle and having a high cost;
Their price makes them objects of indefinite use requiring period cleaning, practically every day, to maintain optimum hygiene and appearance, which involves considerable maintenance;
In certain times of the day they are not used to protect the food, as the public is not offered food at certain times, so that it would be desirable to have the counter clear at these times; however, these cases occupy most of the space on the counter, and their weight and characteristics make it almost impossible to carry them to a temporary storage area.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The advertising support proposed solves the issues discussed in the aforementioned drawbacks in a fully satisfactory manner, as its nature and structure makes this support extraordinarily lightweight, easily attached to and removed from the counter, and while maintaining the performance of a conventional case can constitute a single-use device due to its limited cost, so that this support can be used at the times of day when it is needed and removed when it is not needed, leaving the counter free.
[0008] In addition, as mentioned above, the support can be disposed fully flat in its storage and transport situation, which greatly reduces the space occupied in these situations.
[0009] To do so and more specifically, the support disclosed is constituted by a semirigid, transparent sheet, preferably of transparent polyvinyl chloride, transparent polypropylene or a similar material, this sheet being initially flat but when suitable cut allows conforming a rectangular-base pyramid open on its minor and major base on one of its side walls, that corresponding to the inside of the counter, while on its lower opening it has a tab, preferably bent outward, meant to constitute the area that rests on the counter and attach to it by a contact adhesive placed on the tab.
[0010] More specifically, said transparent, semirigid sheet can configure a truncated rectangular pyramidal body with an isosceles trapezoid front face and a right trapezoidal profile, having small slits on both its upper face and its side walls to facilitate the internal aeration of the support and therefore of the food items contained in it.
[0011] In this way, a construction resembling an inverted pan is obtained, open on one of its side walls and attachable to the counter by its opening, which will preferably have dimensions allowing to introduce a plate, tray or any other container for food, so that as many pans or supports can be placed on the counter as required.
[0012] All or some of these supports can be eliminated when desired, or temporarily removed from the counter and later replaced, naturally for a limited number of times until the contact adhesive loses its efficacy, at which time the support must be permanently eliminated.
[0013] This single-use nature of the support is mainly determined in that it is conceived as a support for advertising; its transparent wall can be provided with any message, preferably occupying not more than 20% of its surface so that it does not conceal the product displayed inside it. In addition, this information will be placed on the front face of the support, occupying the aforementioned percentage of its surface, as this is the face that is directly opposite the customers.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] To complete this description and in order to aid a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to an example of a preferred embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is accompanied as an integral part of the description where for purposes of illustration only and in a non-limiting sense the following is shown:
Figure 1 shows a schematic perspective representation of an advertising support for displaying food items on counters and the like executed in accordance with the object of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a front elevation view of the same support.
Figure 3 shows a side elevation view of the support of the previous figures.
Figure 4 shows a plan view from above.
Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a plurality of supports as that represented in figure 1, duly placed on the counter of a bar, cafeteria or the like.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0015] In view of the above-described figures, it can be seen that the support disclosed is constituted by a sheet of PVC, polypropylene or the like, with a thickness from 0.3 to 0.5 millimeters, this is, with a semirigid and transparent wall, defining cutting and folding lines in said laminar body by punching to allow forming a type of inverted pan (1) with a truncated pyramidal shape open on both its bottom and its rear face (2), that facing the inside of the establishment, its side walls being prolonged by an outer horizontal tab (3) with a contact adhesive on its bottom face for attachment to the counter (4), so that said initially flat laminar body will maintain the truncated pyramid configuration of figure 1 when it is attached to the counter (4) on the greater part of its perimeter by means of said tabs (3).
[0016] Said inverted pan (1) can have a height on the order of 10 centimeters, a width on the order of 30 centimeters and a depth on the order of 40 centimeters, although these dimensions are solely by way of example as they can vary greatly according to the specific needs of each case, so that supports of different dimensions may be provided, making selective use of those that conform to each specific case or even combining supports of different sizes.
[0017] To complete the structure described above, the laminar body constituting the pan (1) is provided on its upper base and its side walls with a plurality of slits (4) to facilitate the aeration of its interior, and therefore of the contents of the plate or tray protected by the support; these slits will preferably have a length of 4 centimeters to ensure their function.
[0018] Lastly, as mentioned previously, it must be remarked that several supports (1) can be placed next to one another on a counter as shown in figure 5, in varying number, laterally adjacent to one another or separated to a greater or lesser extent, with an identical size or with different dimensions, all of them having their opening facing the establishment staff and having dimensions that allow housing, through said front opening, the trays or plates that hold the various products.
1. Advertising support for displaying food items on counters and the like in bars, cafeterias
and elsewhere, characterised in that it consists of a transparent and semirigid laminar body preferably made of PVC, polypropylene
or the like, initially flat but provided with cutting and punching lines that allow
its simple transformation into a type of inverted pan with a truncated rectangular-pyramid
shape, open on both its greater bottom base and on the side facing the inside of the
establishment, such that said pan is meant to conform and be attached to said counter
by its greater open base.
2. Advertising support for displaying food items on counters and the like as claimed
in claim 1, characterised in that both the side walls of said pan and its front wall are prolonged by a tab meant to
conform to the surface of the counter, said tab being provided on its bottom with
a contact adhesive that allows attaching it to said counter in a single-use fashion
or allowing a limited number of assemblies and disassemblies of the laminar body constituting
the pan on the counter.
3. Advertising support for displaying food items on counters and the like as claimed
in previous claims, characterised in that the laminar body incorporates, in correspondence with the upper closed base of the
inverted pan and on its side walls, a plurality of slits for aerating the contents,
while its front wall lacks said slits and provides a fully smooth surface allowing
to place on it advertising messages occupying 20% or less of its surface.
4. Advertising support for displaying food items on counters and the like as claimed
in previous claims, characterised in that the dimensions of the pan and the corresponding side opening providing access to
its interior are variable, adapted to different sizes of plates or trays holding the
food items in question.