Drinking Straw Holder

Abstract

A drinking straw holder cut and formed from flat sheet material comprising a means for securely grasping a straw and a means for securely positioning the straw with respect to a beverage container.

1 . A drinking straw holder device comprising:
 a thin strip of flexible material;   wherein one end of said strip is provided with a slot device such that the other end of the strip may be inserted into said slot and pushed through the slot to a predetermined position; and   wherein the strip is provided with at least two straw-holes sized to permit a straw to be inserted through said straw-holes; and   wherein said straw-holes are aligned such that a straw inserted through the straw-holes is aligned to lie over a portion of the strip that has been pushed through the slot.   
     
     
         2 . A straw holder of  claim 1  wherein a straw inserted through the straw-holes is one of: in contact with the portion of the strip that has been pushed through the slot, or exerts pressure on the portion of the strip that has been pushed through the slot, or is positioned near the portion of the strip that has been pushed through the slot. 
     
     
         3 . A straw holder of  claim 1  wherein one or more of the straw-holes are partially open to an edge of the strip to permit a straw to be inserted into the straw-holes from said edge. 
     
     
         4 . A straw holder of  claim 1  wherein one or more of the straw-holes in the strip are elongated or otherwise shaped with wider or narrower parts to facilitate securely grasping straws of various diameters. 
     
     
         5 . A straw holder of  claim 1  wherein the slot is partially open to an edge of the strip to facilitate insertion of another part of the strip into the slot. 
     
     
         6 . A straw holder of  claim 1  wherein a part of the strip is widened with respect to the slot such as to limit the length of the other end of the strip that can be pushed through the slot. 
     
     
         7 . A straw holder of  claim 1  wherein a part of the strip is slightly widened with respect to the slot such as to allow said slightly widened portion to pass through the slot by means of the elastic deformation of the strip and slot by a force greater than that required to push the rest of the strip through the slot, and thus resist the withdrawal of the strip from the slot. 
     
     
         8 . A straw holder of  claim 1  wherein the strip is induced to bend in a fair curve by means of locally varying the width or thickness of the strip. 
     
     
         9 . A straw holder of  claim 1  wherein a portion of the strip is stiffened by means of a grooved or raised area formed into the strip. 
     
     
         10 . A straw holder of  claim 1  wherein the strip is induced to bend or is bent near the end of the strip away from the slot by providing one or more of: reduced width of the strip, or reduced thickness of the strip, or a hole formed in the strip, or one or more slits cut into the strip, or a groove or raised area formed into the strip, or mechanical or thermal deformation of the strip.