CA2472931C - Cup holder - Google Patents

Cup holder Download PDF

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Publication number
CA2472931C
CA2472931C CA 2472931 CA2472931A CA2472931C CA 2472931 C CA2472931 C CA 2472931C CA 2472931 CA2472931 CA 2472931 CA 2472931 A CA2472931 A CA 2472931A CA 2472931 C CA2472931 C CA 2472931C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
sleeve
holder
ribs
cup
thickness
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Fee Related
Application number
CA 2472931
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
CA2472931A1 (en
Inventor
Raymond Darzinskas
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
VENTURE FOAM PRODUCTS Inc
Original Assignee
VENTURE FOAM PRODUCTS INC.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by VENTURE FOAM PRODUCTS INC. filed Critical VENTURE FOAM PRODUCTS INC.
Priority to CA 2472931 priority Critical patent/CA2472931C/en
Publication of CA2472931A1 publication Critical patent/CA2472931A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA2472931C publication Critical patent/CA2472931C/en
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

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Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65DCONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D81/00Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D81/38Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents with thermal insulation
    • B65D81/3876Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents with thermal insulation insulating sleeves or jackets for cans, bottles, barrels, etc.
    • B65D81/3879Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents with thermal insulation insulating sleeves or jackets for cans, bottles, barrels, etc. formed of foam material
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47GHOUSEHOLD OR TABLE EQUIPMENT
    • A47G23/00Other table equipment
    • A47G23/02Glass or bottle holders
    • A47G23/0208Glass or bottle holders for drinking-glasses, plastic cups, or the like
    • A47G23/0216Glass or bottle holders for drinking-glasses, plastic cups, or the like for one glass or cup

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Extrusion Moulding Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)

Abstract

A holder for a cup comprising a foamed plastic pliable sleeve having an open top and bottom for receiving said cup.

Description

CUP HOLDER
Field of the Invention This invention relates to cup holders and in particular relates to a sleeve adapted to receive a cup in one position and foldable in another position. The invention also relates to the method of producing the holder.
Background of the Invention Disposable paper board cups are routinely used in fast food and restaurants to contain hot drinks. Such cups are generally of standardized size normally frusto-conical or tapered. Such cups are generally thin walled and may be difficult to handle particularly when the cups include hot coffee, tea, soup or the like.
Furthermore cold drinks may also be served in standardized frusto-conical cups and may also be difficult to hold in view of the cold temperature. Such prior art cups may be comprised of very thin plastic having little strength.
Accordingly a number of prior art cup holders or sleeves have heretofore been designed in order to insulate the user's fingers against extreme hot or cold temperatures as well as to add structural strength to the cup.
For example, U.S. Patent No. 5, 205,473 relates to a corrugated beverage container and holders which provide fluted structures for containing insulating air.
Furthermore U.S. Patent No. 5,425,497 also relates to a cup holder in the form of a sheet with distal ends. A web is formed in one of the ends, and a corresponding slot is formed at the other end such that the ends interlock.
The cup holder is assembled by rolling the sheet and interlocking the ends. The sheet can be an elongate band of pressed material preferably pressed paper pulp as preferably formed with multiple nubbins and depressions.
Yet another arrangement is shown in U.S. Patent No. 5,826,786 which relates to a cup holder sleeve formed in pre-assembled, flat-folded form by die cutting a flat elongated band from blank stock material so as to have top and bottom edges concentric to and parallel with each other, fold lines scored into the band at spaced apart positions tapering toward each other, and side edges at opposite ends of the band.
Moreover U.S. Patent No. 5,842,633 relates to a sleeve provided for a frusto~
conical beverage cup, configured to fit around the outside of the cup, thus protecting the fingers of the user from excessive temperatures in the case of hot drink, and to provide a measure of insulation for the contents of the cup.
It i s a n object o f t his invention t o p rovide a n improved c up holder which is easy to manufacture and produce.
It is an aspect of this invention to provide a holder for a cup comprising a foamed plastic sleeve having an open top and bottom for receiving said cup.
It is a further a spect of this invention to provide a holder for a tapered cup comprising an extruded foamed plastic sheet having spaced substantially concentric curved top and bottom and two opposite ends; said ends are overlapping and bonded to each other to define a sleeve; said extruded foam plastic sheet been pliable without breaking.
It is yet another aspect of this invention to provide a method of manufacturing a foamed polystyrene sleeve for a cup comprising extruding a sheet of foamed polystyrene; cutting said sheet to form spaced substantially concentric curved top and bottom and two opposite ends; forming at least two fold lines and a plurality of ribs to said cut sheet; folding said formed sheet so as to overlap and bond said ends together.
Summary of the Invention An object o f o ne a spect of the p resent i nvention is to provide a n improved insulating sleeve.
Brief Description of the Drawings A detailed description of the preferred embodiments are provided herein below by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cup holder or sleeve containing a cup.
Fig. 2 is a partial top plan view of an extruded sheet of foamed polystyrene.
Fig. 3 is a top plan view showing a cut and formed sheet.
Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a foamed extruded polystyrene sheet which has been cut and formed.
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 4.
Fig. 6 illustrates a stacked array of cut formed sheets.
Fig. 7 illustrates the folding and gluing step.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the cup holder.
Fig. 9 is a top plan view of Fig. 8.
Fig. 10 is another embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 11 is another embodiment of the invention.
In the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.
Detailed Descriation of the Preferre~t Embodiment In the description which follows, like parts are marked throughout the specification and the drawings with the same respective reference numerals.
The drawings are not necessarily to scale and in some instances proportions may have been exaggerated in order to more clearly depict certain features of the invention.
Fig. 1 illustrates the cup holder or sleeve 2 in combination with a cup 4 which may have a lid 6. The cup 4 can be comprised of a variety of materials but generally consists of a paper cup which is well known to those persons skilled in the art having little insulating value. The cup 4 is generally frusto-conical or tapered and is concentric about axis 8.
Fig. 8 generally illustrates the holder or sleeve 2 or cup which is comprised of a foamed plastic having an open top 10 and open bottom 12.
The foamed p lastic i s pliable a nd i t i s g enerally s elected from the g roup o f polystyrene, polypropylene and polyethylene. Generally speaking it has been thought that foamed polystyrene is not pliable, namely, that it will break when attempting to bend a flat sheet into a circular configuration. However, such foamed plastic has been found to be pliable when adding a plurality of depressions.
More specifically by forming ribs into the foamed polystyrene it has been found that a pliable structure which can be manipulated into a sleeve without breakage.
Alternatively in another embodiment, it is also been found that if the thickness of foamed polystyrene is selected to be thin enough to be pliable so as not to break when configured into a circular sleeve. A cup holder can be constructed, as described below.
The embodiment of the cup holder shown in Fig. 8 includes a plurality of ribs 14 which are disposed to extend between the open top 10 and open bottom 12 as shown. More particularly the plurality of ribs 14 may be disposed substantially in the same direction as the axis 8.
The embodiment shown in Fig. 8 can be constructed from a sheet of extruded foamed polystyrene as shown in Fig. 2. In one embodiment the sheet of extruded foamed polystyrene is extruded from the extruder (not shown) in the direction D of the extruded path. The extruded foam sheet may exit in the form of a continuous web which can by standard practise, be aged for three or four days to permit dissipation of foamed gases and the like. Thereafter the sheets of foamed polystyrene can be delivered to a cutting and thermo forming station (not shown) so as to cut the sheet 20 to produce a cut sheet having spaced substantially concentric curved top and bottom 12 and two opposite ends 22 and 24. The opposite ends 22 and 24 are adapted to be overlapped and bonded to one another so as to define the sleeve shown in Fig. 8.
During the thermo forming stage the sheet 20 of foamed polystyrene is embossed to produce a plurality of depressions (best seen in Fig. 5) to define a plurality of ribs 14. Although the embodiment shows a plurality of ribs 14 the sheet 20 can be embossed to form any textured surface such as stipples, waves or other patterns so long as the thickness of the foam sheet is "squeezed". It is believed that this forming or squeezing stage compresses the closed cell structure of the foamed polystyrene so as to improve its pliability.
Furthermore by forming the depressions 26 in the surface so as to produce the ribs 14 or other protrusions a natural air gap is produced between the surface of the depressions 26 and the ribs 14 so as to improve the insulating characteristics of the hot liquid contained in the cup 4. Moreover if any of the contents of the hot beverage in cup 4 is accidentally spilled over the surface of the cup holder the liquid will be naturally drained by gravity between the region bounded by the depressions 26 and protrusions or ribs 14.
Furthermore the foamed polystyrene is a naturally good insulating material and will insulate the user's fingers from the hot beverages contained in the cup 4.
Although it is possible that the cup holders 2 could be stacked one inside the other for shipment at least two fold lines 30, as seen in Fig. 3 are applied during the thermo forming stage so as to permit the sleeve to be collapsed into a flat position for storing and transporting and be thereafter opened to defined a substantially frusto-conical sleeve having an open top 10 and bottom 12 adapted to receive the cup in the open position.
Furthermore the ribs shown in Fig. 1 are formed on the exterior surface of the sleeve 2, but could just as easily be formed on the interior surface of the sleeve 2 particularly when used to hold cold drinks which tend to form condensate on the outside of the cup to permit drainage by gravity without wetting the fingers of the user. In other words the ribs 14 are disposed on the inside of the sleeve to allow condensation to run off a cup filled with cold drinks.
Fig. 6 illustrates a stacked array of cut formed sheets showing the fold lines 30. In this case two pairs of fold lines 30 are provided. Each cut sheet is then advanced to the folding and adhesive station shown in Fig. 7 whereby the cut sheets 20 are sequentially advanced by any number of means including rollers (not shown) so as to upturn the edges 22 and 24 towards one another so as to thereby apply a suitable adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive to at least one of the overlapping edges 22 and 24 so that by the time the folded sleeve reaches the end of the folding station as shown in Fig. 7 the sleeve is substantially flat as shown and glued together. Any means of gluing or adhesive can be used.
Optionally during the thermo forming stage indicia 40 may be added, as seen in Fig. 8 to include a company logo, trademark or the like so as to improve the appearance of the cup holder.
Fig. 11 shows another embodiment of the invention whereby the sleeve is comprised of a loop of cut foamed polystyrene which is adhesively bonded as previously described to form a closed loop sleeve. By controlling the thickness of the foamed polystyrene it has been found that sleeves are pliable or bendable without breaking. In one embodiment of the invention it has been found that if the thickness of foamed polystyrene is selected to be up to approximately 25 thousandths of an inch a plastic sleeve can be constructed. However the invention should not be limited to up to 25 thousandths of an inch as greater thicknesses could be used within the spirit of the invention. The sleeves shown in Fig. 2 can be stacked one within the other as shown in Fig. 10 or alternatively as shown in Fig. 11 the sleeves can include a plurality of fold lines as previously described and flattened again as previously described. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 10 and 11 the depressions or ribs have been removed. Alternatively, however, the ribs may be added.
Moreover any other texture apart from ribs such as stippling or the like which have embossed so as to improve the pliability characteristics of polystyrene can also be used.
The invention described herein illustrates a method of manufacturing a foamed polystyrene sleeve for a cup comprising:
(a) extruding a sheet of foamed polystyrene;
(b) cutting the sheet to form spaced substantially concentric curved top and bottom and two opposite ends;
(c) forming at least two fold lines and a plurality of ribs to said cut sheet;
(d) folding the formed sheet so as to overlap and bond the ends together.
Furthermore the spacing of the ribs are accurately calculated so that even though the ribs 14 fan out as shown in Fig. 3 i.e. are placed radially substantially parallel to one another once the sleeve is formed the ribs tend to be disposed along the length of the cup 4.

_7-Furthermore the polystyrene has an improved co-efficient of friction as compared to a typically prior art sleeves so as to improve the gripping characteristics.
Also the sleeve adds structural strength to a flimsy cup as manufacturers of cups try to reduce their costs.
Various embodiments of the invention have now been described in detail.
Since changes in andlor additions to the above-described best mode may be made without departing from the nature, spirit or scope of the invention, the invention is not to be limited to said details.

Claims (15)

1. A holder for a cup comprising a sheet of foamed thermoplastic with a first thickness and having: (a) two overlapping opposite ends to form a sleeve moveable between a flat storage position and an operable open position for receiving said cup; (b) a plurality of flat depressions embossed on said sheet said plurality of depression having a second thickness to define a plurality of ribs having said first thickness, wherein said first thickness is thicker than said second thickness, and wherein each of said plurality of ribs has a curved outer surface in cross section, when said sleeve is in said flat storage position.
2. A holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein said foamed thermoplastic is selected from the group of polystyrene, polypropylene, or polyethylene or other thermoplastic material.
3. A. holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sleeve comprises foamed polystyrene.
4. A holder as claimed in claim 3wherein said foamed polystyrene sleeve includes at least two fold lines for flattening said sleeve to said flat storage position.
5. A holder as claimed in claim 1 having a curved top and bottom opening.
6. A holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein said overlapping opposite ends are adhesively bonded.
7. A holder for a cup comprising a sheet of foamed polystyrene having two overlapping opposite ends to form a single walled sleeve: (a) moveable between a flat storage position and an operable open position for receiving said cup;
(b) a plurality of spaced ribs separated by substantially flat depressions; wherein each of said ribs has a curved outer surface in cross section, in said flat storage position.
8. A holder as claimed in claim 7 wherein said foamed polystyrene sleeve is constructed from said foamed polystyrene sheet having:

(a) spaced substantially concentric curved top and bottom with said two opposite ends;

(b) said ends overlapping and bonded together to form a sleeve.
9. A holder as claimed in claim 8 wherein said sheet includes a plurality of ribs on at least one surface thereof and whereby the sheet is pliable when formed in a loop;
and wherein each said plurality of ribs has a curved outer surface in cross section.
10. A holder as claimed in claim 9 wherein said sleeve includes at least two fold lines for:

(a) flattening said sleeve in said flat storage position one position, and (b) opening said sleeve to said operable open position to define a substantially frusto-conical sleeve having open top and bottom adapted to receive said cup in another position.
11. A holder as claimed in claim 8 wherein said curved outer surface of said ribs and said depressions are formed by way of compression of said foamed polystyrene-, and wherein said ribs are thicker than said depressions.
12. A holder as claimed in claim 9 wherein said plurality of ribs are disposed on an exterior surface of said sheet.
13. A holder for a cup comprising a sheet of foamed thermoplastic having spaced top, bottom and opposite ends, said sheet having a substantially uniform first thickness said sheet folded so that said opposite ends overlap and present a sleeve: (a) moveable between an open position to receive said cup to a folded storage position; (b) having a plurality of ribs presented by said substantially uniform first thickness, wherein each of said plurality of ribs has a curved outer surface in said folded flat storage position separated by a plurality of substantially flat depressions having another thickness less than said first thickness foam having an open top and bottom for receiving said cup.
14. A holder as claimed in claim 13 wherein said thermoplastic foam is selected from the group of polystyrene, polypropylene, or polyethylene or other thermoplastic material.
15. A holder for a cup comprising a sleeve constructed from a foamed polystyrene sheet having:

(a) spaced substantially concentric curved top and bottom and two opposite ends;

(b) only said ends overlap and are bonded together to form a frusto-conical sleeve; concentric about an axis wherein said sleeve is moveable between an open operable position to receive said cup to closed flat position and (c) a plurality of spaced ribs extending from said top and bottom wherein each said plurality of spaced ribs has a curved outer surface in said flat position and a first thickness and a plurality of substantially flat depressions separating said ribs having a second thickness intermediate said overlapping ends, wherein said first thickness is thicker than said second thickness and wherein said second thickness is formed by way of compression of said foamed thermoplastic.
CA 2472931 2004-07-02 2004-07-02 Cup holder Expired - Fee Related CA2472931C (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 2472931 CA2472931C (en) 2004-07-02 2004-07-02 Cup holder

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 2472931 CA2472931C (en) 2004-07-02 2004-07-02 Cup holder

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2472931A1 CA2472931A1 (en) 2006-01-02
CA2472931C true CA2472931C (en) 2012-06-26

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA 2472931 Expired - Fee Related CA2472931C (en) 2004-07-02 2004-07-02 Cup holder

Country Status (1)

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Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GR1009172B (en) * 2016-09-12 2017-12-08 Νικολαος Αντωνιου Καραταρακης Additional heat- inulating inlated polystyrene ring-crown adaptable to disposable glasses

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Publication number Publication date
CA2472931A1 (en) 2006-01-02

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Effective date: 20160704