1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to refuse receptacles and in particular to ashtrays.
For smokers in public establishments such as bars, restaurants, hotels, conference centers and offices, it is desirable to have available ashtrays which are lightweight, safe and easy to handle. For those who own and operate such public establishments, the cost and inconvenience of providing and cleaning ashtrays, and the cost of replacing stolen ashtrays frequently inhibit them from providing adequate numbers of ashtrays to meet smoker's needs.
People who enjoy outdoor activities such as camping, fishing, and people who travel in vehicles have also experienced the need for safe and convenient ashtrays. It is thus desirable to provide ashtrays that are easy to use, carry and dispose. Collapsible and disposable ashtrays are particularly desirable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of disposable ashtrays have been proposed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,364,556; 1,430,720; 2,071,394; 2,432,656; 3,342,317; 3,372,724; 3,561,670; and 4,349,036. Of particular interest is U.S. Pat. No. 2,071,394 to Douglas which discloses an ashtray constructed similarly to a paperbox. A flat piece of material is creased at several places, and end pieces are lapped together and fastened by gluing. When assembled, the ashtray is in a shape of a cup with an inverted triangular cross-section. The ashtray has two legs, one on each side to support the ashtray in an upright position. The ashtray may be folded to make a flat assembly and has cut out holes forming rests for cigarettes. Although compact and generally suitable for its intended purpose, the Douglas ashtray is inherently unstable as it tends to tilt about the inverted-triangular base. The legs only partly overcome this instability since they will tend to fold outward, particularly when a cigarette is placed on the ashtray. To further overcome the instability, a modified design having leg portions with interlocking extension to form a more rigid structure is disclosed. While the latter design cures the instability, it is much less convenient since it requires that they ashtray be assembled. Although the assembly required is minimal, even the simplest assembly will require time and effort by the unfamiliar user. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a foldable ashtray which requires virtually no assembly whatsoever.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,364,556 to Hurff discloses a foldable ashtray having generally the same shape as that of Douglas. An inverted triangular cup is supported by foldable members on two sides which are in turn supported by a flat base formed by foldable sections. Thus, when the base is folded upwards along the center line the two support members for the cup and the cup itself are all folded into a flat package. It is the flat base which prevents the foldable members from collapsing. The need to provide a flat base, however, greatly increases the difficulty of assembling the ashtray and results in a relatively bulk structure when folded. Moreover, the Hurff ashtray construction requires flexible strip members to serve as the hinge connecting the two sections of the base and a pivoted clip member to keep the whole assembly in position so that the receiver may be expensive to manufacture.