EP4010885A1

EP4010885A1 - Cup, stack of cups, and beverage vending machine containing the same

Info

Publication number: EP4010885A1
Application number: EP20760684.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tony MCCOY; David Wicks; Jamie Bell; John WARHURST
Original assignee: Lavazza Professional North America LLC
Current assignee: Lavazza Professional North America LLC
Priority date: 2019-08-06
Filing date: 2020-08-06
Publication date: 2022-06-15
Also published as: WO2021026296A1

Abstract

A vending cup, a stack of cups for a beverage vending machine, and a beverage vending machine containing one or more of the stacks of cups. The cups may be formed from paper and may include a bottom end, a rim, a floor, and a sidewall that includes a first portion extending from the floor to the rim and a second portion extending from the floor to the bottom end. The cups may include apertures in the second portion of the sidewall, which may be notches extending from the bottom end of the cup or through-holes having a closed-geometric shape. The second portion of the sidewall may be oriented obliquely relative to the first portion of the sidewall. Thus, the first and second portions of the sidewall may be noncoplanar.

Description

CUP, STACK OF CUPS, AND BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINE CONTAINING THE SAME

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims priority to United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/883,208, filed August 6, 2019, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Tn Cup’ beverage vending machines create a beverage in a disposable cup and then present the disposable cup with the beverage therein to a consumer. Such Tn Cup” beverage vending machines typically use cups that are pre-filled with powdered ingredients and inject a liquid such as water (and/or milk and sugar) into the cups to form the desired beverage. The cups are typically held inside the machine in multiple stacks to maximize the number of cups that can be stored. The cups themselves are pre-filled with powdered ingredients and stacked one inside the other to facilitate ongoing handling. The cups are typically shipped in wrapped stacks of 20 or more. These stacks are then unwrapped on site and loaded into the machine in columns. [0003] With certain cups that are stacked in this manner, an issue arises that during the act of stacking one cup inside the other an air flow is created that causes some of the powdered ingredients within the lower cup to become trapped between the side walls of the adjacent cups. When particles of the powdered ingredients become stuck between the side walls of the adjacent cups in the stack, an increased force is required to split cups during the vending cycle. Furthermore, even when the cups are able to be split without damaging the cups, residual powdered ingredient may remain attached to the outside of cups after vending which is an undesirable result. Thus, a need exists for a vending cup for Tn Cup’ beverage vending machines that overcomes the aforementioned deficiencies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention is directed to a cup, a stack of cups for a vending machine, and/or a vending machine comprising or containing such a stack of cups. The idea is to enhance the ability to dispense cups from a beverage vending machine without failure and without distorting the cups, in particular while forming the cups out of paper (which includes card, card stock, paperboard, and cardboard material).

[0005] In one aspect, the invention may be a stack of cups for a beverage vending machine, the stack of cups comprising: a plurality of cups arranged in a stack, each of the cups comprising: a bottom end; a rim; a floor; a sidewall comprising an inner surface and an outer surface, a first portion of the sidewall extending from the floor to the rim and a second portion of the sidewall extending from the floor to the bottom end, the second portion of the sidewall comprising a plurality of apertures extending from the outer surface of the sidewall to the inner surface of the sidewall; and a cavity defined by the floor and the first portion of the sidewall, the cavity extending along a longitudinal axis; a powder ingredient located in the cavity of each of the cups; and wherein each of the plurality of cups in the stack other than a lowermost cup is at least partially located within the cavity of an adjacent cup in the stack.

[0006] In another aspect, the invention may be a beverage vending machine comprising: a cup dispensing assembly supporting a stack of cups and configured to dispense a lowermost cup of the stack of cups by separating the lowermost cup from a remainder of the cups in the stack of cups; the stack of cups comprising a plurality of cups each comprising a cavity containing a powder ingredient, a bottom end, a rim, a floor, and a sidewall having a first portion that extends from the floor to the rim and a second portion that extends from the floor to the bottom end; and a plurality of apertures formed into the second portion of the sidewall so that air flows through the apertures as the cups are stacked to prevent the powder ingredient from becoming trapped in a space between the sidewalls of two adjacent cups in the stack.

[0007] In yet another aspect, the invention may be a cup comprising: a floor; a sidewall comprising a first portion that extends from the floor to a rim of the cup and a second portion that extends from the floor to a bottom end of the cup, the sidewall having an outer surface and an inner surface, the floor and the first portion of the sidewall defining a cavity; a powder ingredient located in the cavity of the cup; and a plurality of apertures extending through the second portion of the sidewall from the outer surface of the second portion of the sidewall to the inner surface of the second portion of the sidewall.

[0008] In a further aspect, the invention may be a stack of cups for a beverage vending machine, the stack of cups comprising: a plurality of cups arranged in a stack, each of the cups comprising: a rim; a floor; a sidewall extending from a bottom end to the rim, the bottom end of the sidewall being non-planar; and a cavity defined by the floor and the sidewall; a powder ingredient located in the cavity of each of the cups; and wherein each of the plurality of cups in the stack other than a lowermost cup is at least partially located within the cavity of an adjacent cup in the stack. [0009] In a still further aspect, the invention may be a stack of cups for a beverage vending machine, the stack of cups comprising: a plurality of cups arranged in a stack, each of the cups comprising: a bottom end; a rim; a floor; a sidewall comprising a first portion that extends from the floor to the rim and a second portion that extends from the floor to the bottom end; and a cavity extending along a longitudinal axis; a powder ingredient located in the cavity of each of the cups; and wherein the first portion of the sidewall diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the rim and the second portion of the sidewall is either: (1) parallel to the longitudinal axis; or (2) diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the bottom end of the cup; and wherein the first and second portions of the sidewall intersect at a transition region that is free of any shoulder or ledges.

[0010] In another aspect, the invention may be a cup comprising: a floor; a sidewall comprising a first portion that extends from the floor to a rim of the cup and a second portion that extends from the floor to a bottom end of the cup, the sidewall having an outer surface and an inner surface, the floor and the first portion of the sidewall defining a cavity; a powder ingredient located in the cavity of the cup; and wherein the first and second portions of the sidewall are noncoplanar, the first and second portions of the sidewall intersecting at a transition region that is free of any shoulders or ledges.

[0011] In yet another aspect, the invention may be a beverage vending machine comprising: a cup dispensing assembly comprising: a cup support member supporting a stack of cups; and a cup dispensing mechanism for dispensing a lowermost cup of the stack of cups by separating the lowermost cup from a remainder of the cups in the stack of cups; the stack of cups comprising a plurality of cups each comprising a cavity extending along a longitudinal axis and containing a powder ingredient, a bottom end, a rim, a floor, and a sidewall having a first portion that extends from the floor to the rim and a second portion that extends from the floor to the bottom end; and wherein the first portion of the sidewall diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the rim and the second portion of the sidewall is either: (1) parallel to the longitudinal axis; or (2) diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the bottom end of the cup; and wherein the first and second portions of the sidewall intersect at a transition region that is free of any shoulder or ledges. [0012] In a further embodiment, the invention may be a cup comprising: a floor; a sidewall comprising a first portion that extends from the floor to a rim of the cup and a second portion that extends from the floor to a bottom end of the cup; and a plurality of apertures formed into the second portion of the sidewall.

[0013] In another embodiment, the invention may be a cup comprising: a longitudinal axis; a floor; a sidewall comprising a first portion that extends from the floor to a rim of the cup and a second portion that extends from the floor to a bottom end of the cup; and wherein the second portion of the sidewall comprises a plurality of tab portions that extend from the floor to the bottom end of the cup in a circumferentially spaced apart manner.

[0014] Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a beverage dispensing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the beverage dispensing system of FIG. 1 with a door thereof in an open state;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a cup dispensing assembly of the beverage dispensing system of FIG. 1;

[0018] FIG. 4 is a close-up view of area IV of FIG. 3;

[0019] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the cup dispensing assembly of FIG. 3 with a stack of cups therein;

[0020] FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a scroll of the cup dispensing assembly of FIG. 3;

[0021] FIG. 6B is a front plan view of the scroll of FIG. 6A; [0022] FIGS. 7A-7F are close-up views of a portion of the cup dispensing assembly of FIG. 3 illustrating the operation of dispensing a lowermost cup in the stack of cups;

[0023] FIG. 8 is a partially cut-away view of a stack of cups filled with a powder ingredient in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] FIGS. 9 and 10 are schematic cross-sectional views of two of the cups of FIG. 8, illustrating one cup being inserted inside the other;

[0025] FIG. 10A is a close-up view of area XA of FIG. 10;

[0026] FIG. 11 is a front view of a cup in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] FIG. 11A is a schematic cross-sectional view of two of the cups of FIG. 11, illustrating one cup being inserted inside the other;

[0028] FIG. 1 IB is a close-up view of area XIB of FIG. 11 A;

[0029] FIG. 12 is a front view of a cup in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] FIG. 13 is a front view of a cup in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] FIG. 14 is a front view of a cup in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] FIG. 15 is a front view of a cup in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of two of the cups of FIG. 15, illustrating one cup being inserted inside the other;

[0034] FIG. 16A is a close-up view of area XVIA of FIG. 16 just prior to the one cup being fully inserted inside the other; and

[0035] FIG. 16B is a close-up view of area XVIA of FIG. 16 with the one cup being fully inserted inside the other;

[0036] FIG. 17 is a front view of a cup in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] FIG. 18 is a front view of a cup in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and [0038] FIG. 19 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cup in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0039] The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

[0040] The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles of the present invention is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description of embodiments of the invention disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated as such. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,” “interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated by reference to the exemplified embodiments. Accordingly, the invention expressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of the invention being defined by the claims appended hereto.

[0041] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a beverage dispensing system 1000 is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The beverage dispensing system 1000 comprises a beverage vending machine (hereinafter “the machine”) 100 and a cup dispensing assembly 200 housed therein. The cup dispensing assembly 200 supports or holds one or more stacks of cups, each cup within each stack containing the same powder ingredient. Operation of the beverage dispensing system 1000 includes the machine 100 dispensing a cup from one of the stacks of cups that are supported by the cup dispensing assembly 200, filling the cup (which may pre-filled with a powder ingredient) with hot or cold water to form a beverage, and presenting the cup with the beverage therein to a consumer. All of these actions may be achieved automatically by the beverage dispensing system 1000 upon a user putting money into the machine (if required) and pressing a button associated with a particular beverage or otherwise selecting a beverage to be made by the machine 100.

[0042] The machine 100 comprises a housing 101 that includes a body portion 102 and a door 103 that can be closed (FIG. 1) and open (FIG. 2). The door 103 is closed during normal use of the machine 100 and open during maintenance and/or when additional cups need to be inserted into the machine 100. There are a plurality of buttons 104 on the door 103, each of which includes indicia, graphics, or labeling for a different type of beverage. For example, one of the buttons 104 may include a graphic image of a particular type of coffee and another one of the buttons 104 may include a graphic image of hot chocolate, iced or hot tea, plain or flavored water, a type of soup, or the like. Basically, each of the buttons 104 is associated with one of the types of beverages that the beverage dispensing system 1000 is configured to create.

[0043] The machine 100 includes a payment receiving section 105 (for receiving payment in coins, cash, or electronic payment which may include payment via a credit or debit card or payment via an electronic key that has money associated therewith) and a coin return area 106. However, the machine 100 may be preset to operate without requiring payment in some instances, such as if the machine 100 is placed in a place of employment and the employer desires to provide free beverages from the machine 100 as a perk. Furthermore, the machine 100 includes a beverage pick-up zone 107 which is where the user/consumer can pick up the beverage after it is made by the machine 100.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 2, the door 103 can be opened to expose an interior cavity 108 of the machine 100, which houses the cup dispensing assembly 200. The cup dispensing assembly 200 will be described in much greater detail below. There are also some other components within the interior cavity 108 that are necessary for proper operation of the machine 100. For example, there are conduits 109 that are operably coupled to a water main so that water can be made to flow into the machine 100 and to a nozzle so that the water can be injected into a dispensed cup for generating a desired beverage. The term injected, as used herein, includes both the injection of water into the cup as a jet stream and the directing of water into the cup as free-falling from the nozzle due to gravity without an added force. The machine 100 also includes a processor and/or circuitry 110 that includes all of the electronic components required for proper operation of the machine 100. For example, the processor 110 is configured to receive signals indicative of a choice of beverage selected by a consumer and initiate operation of the cup dispensing assembly 200 and a liquid subsystem that controls the injection of liquid into the dispensed cup so that the correct beverage is generated and provided to the consumer.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 3, a top plan view of the cup dispensing assembly 200 is illustrated without any cups stacked thereon (with the exception of one stack of cups within one region of the cup dispensing assembly 200). The cup dispensing assembly 200 comprises a carousel 290 that comprises a plurality of cup dispensing sections 201, each of which is configured to hold a stack of cups and to dispense cups from that stack. That is, when the machine 100 is fully stocked, there is a stack of cups positioned at each of the cup dispensing sections 201. The carousel 290 is configured to rotate about a rotational axis during operation of the beverage dispensing system 1000 to align a desired one of the cup dispensing sections 201 with an actuator mechanism (not shown) to dispense a desired cup in accordance with a beverage selection made by a consumer.

[0046] In FIG. 3, a stack of cups 206 is depicted in one of the cup dispensing sections 201 and in that cup dispensing section 201 a top plate has been removed to expose the internal components that facilitate the dispensing of an individual cup. Each of the cup dispensing sections 201 may support a stack of cups with each stack of cups holding a different powder ingredient (and each cup within each stack holding the same powder ingredient). As noted above and described further below, when the cups are inserted into the machine 100, the cups are pre-filled with a powder ingredient (e.g., coffee grounds, hot chocolate powder, tea, flavored water powder, soup base ingredients, etc.), which may include multiple different ingredients being in the same cup (e.g., coffee grounds, milk powder, and sugar, for example). Thus, when a beverage is selected by a consumer, a cup having the desired powder ingredient is dispensed from the cup dispensing assembly 200 and then either hot or cold water is injected into the cup to mix with the powder ingredient held by that cup to create the beverage that is then provided to the consumer. [0047] Thus, for example, one of the cup dispensing sections 201 may support a stack of cups holding a coffee ingredient therein, another of the cup dispensing sections 201 may support a stack of cups holding a mixture of coffee, sugar, and whitener, yet another of the cup dispensing sections 201 may support a stack of cups holding hot chocolate, still another of the cup dispensing sections 201 may support a stack of cups holding tea, and yet another of the cup dispensing sections 201 may support a stack of cups that is empty (so that it can hold plain water. In some embodiments, two of the cup dispensing sections 201 may support a stack of cups holding the same ingredient. In other embodiments, there may be no overlap and each cup dispensing section 201 may support a stack of cups holding ingredients that are different from the ingredients held in each other stack of cups. This may be dependent on the total number of cup dispensing sections 201 available and the total number of beverages desired to be generated by the system 1000.

[0048] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 concurrently, each of the cup dispensing sections 201 comprises an opening 202 through which a cup is dispensed, four scrolls 210 that support the stack of cups and dispense the lowermost cup in the stack (i.e., when a user pushes the button to dispense a beverage that is associated with a particular stack of cups), and a ring gear 205 that interacts with the four scrolls 210 as described further below to facilitate the dispensing of the cups. The four scrolls 210 are identical in structure in this embodiment, and the particular structure of the scrolls 210 will be described in greater detail below with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. In the exemplified embodiment, there are two outer scrolls 210 that are spaced apart by a first distance and two inner scrolls 210 that are spaced apart by a second distance that is less than the first distance. Of course, there could be more or less than four scrolls 210 in other embodiments and the spacing between the scrolls 210 could be modified to be different than that which is shown in the exemplified embodiment in some alternative embodiments. In FIG. 4, there is a cup or a stack of cups 206 positioned within the opening 202 of the cup dispensing section 201 that is shown in that figure.

[0049] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the ring gear 205 has an inner surface 207 that faces the opening 202 and an opposite outer surface 208. In the exemplified embodiment, the inner surface 207 of the ring gear 205 is smooth. However, the outer surface 208 of the ring gear 205 comprises a plurality of sets of gear teeth 209 that are configured to interact with gear teeth 211 of the scrolls 210. In the exemplified embodiment, there are four sets of the gear teeth 209 arranged in a spaced apart manner along the outer surface 208 of the ring gear 205 so that each set of gear teeth 209 is located in the vicinity of one of the scrolls 210. During operation, an actuator is coupled to the ring gear 205 and causes the ring gear 205 to rotate about a rotational axis (when a beverage associated with the particular cup dispensing section 201 is actuated/selected by a user/consumer). As the ring gear 205 rotates, the gear teeth 209 of the ring gear 205 engage the gear teeth 211 of the scrolls 210, thereby causing the scrolls 210 to rotate about a rotational axis. The rotation of the scrolls 210 causes a lowermost cup of the stack of cups 206 to be separated from the remainder of the stack of cups 206 and thereby dispensed. This operation of the cup dispensing assembly 200 will be described in greater detail below with reference to FIGS. 7A-7F.

[0050] Once a particular beverage is selected by a consumer, the carousel 290 of the cup dispensing assembly 200 rotates such that all of the cup dispensing sections 201 rotate in tandem. The carousel 290 of the cup dispensing assembly 200 rotates until the cup dispensing section 201 containing a stack of cups having the powder ingredient that is associated with the particular beverage selected by the consumer is aligned with an actuator (not shown) of the cup dispensing assembly 200. Next, the actuator will actuate the ring gear 205 of that cup dispensing section 201 so that it rotates, which then causes the scrolls 210 of that cup dispensing section 201 to rotate, which causes dispensing of one of the cups held within that cup dispensing section 201 of the cup dispensing assembly 200.

[0051] Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the scrolls 210 will be described in detail. As noted above, each of the scrolls 210 includes a gear section having gear teeth 211. The gear teeth 211 of the scrolls 210 interact with the gear teeth 209 of the ring gear 205 during operation to dispense a cup. Thus, each of the scrolls 210 is rotatable about a rotational axis A-A during this operation, the rotational axes A-A being parallel to a rotational axis of the ring gear 205 and to a rotational axis of the carousel 290.

[0052] The scroll 210 comprises a support ledge 212 that is configured to support a rim of a lowermost cup of a stack of cups, thereby supporting the entire stack of cups. The support ledge 212 is level or planar to facilitate the support of the rim of the cup as described herein. Specifically, referring briefly to FIGS. 4 and 5, the support ledges 212 of the four scrolls 210 collectively support the stack of cups 206 by the rim of the lowermost cup in the stack of cups 206 resting atop of the support ledges 212.

[0053] Referring back to FIGS. 6A and 6B, each of the scrolls 210 also comprises a cup splitter 213 protruding from an outer surface 217 of a main body 218 of the scroll 210. The cup splitter 213 is configured to force two adjacent cups in a stack of the cups (i.e., the lowermost cup and the second lowermost cup) to separate from one another so that the lowermost cup can be dispensed. The cup splitter 213 comprises a bottom surface 214 and a top surface 215. In the exemplified embodiment, the top surface 215 of the cup splitter 213 is flat and the bottom surface 214 of the cup splitter 213 is inclined or helically arranged about the outer surface 217 of the main body 218. Specifically, the bottom surface 214 of the cup splitter 213 is oriented oblique to the axis A-A. Stated another way, the cup splitter 213 has a tip portion 216, and a height of the cup splitter 213 measured between the bottom and top surfaces 214, 215 of the cup splitter 213 increases as the cup splitter 213 extends circumferentially away from the tip portion 216. This is because the top surface 215 of the cup splitter 213 is flat and level (and perpendicular to the axis A-A) whereas the bottom surface 214 of the cup splitter 213 is inclined or angled or helical.

[0054] Referring to FIGS. 7A-7F sequentially, the operation of the cup dispensing assembly 200 will be described along with illustrations showing the dispensing of a lowermost cup 301 from a stack of cups 300. In the exemplified embodiment, the stack of cups 300 comprises two cups, but the stack of cups 300 may comprise many more cups, such as twenty cups, twenty-five cups, thirty cups, or the like in various different embodiments. FIG. 7A illustrates one of the cup dispensing sections 201 of the cup dispensing assembly 200 whereby the scrolls 210 are supporting the stack of cups 300. Specifically, a rim 302 of the lowermost cup 301 of the stack of cups 300 rests on the support ledges 212 of the four scrolls 210. A bottom portion of the lowermost cup 301 (and some of the other cups in the stack of cups 300) extends through the opening 202 in the cup dispensing section 201.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 7B, the same cup dispensing section 201 of the cup dispensing assembly 200 is illustrated, but in FIG. 7B the ring gear 205 has rotated slightly in a clockwise direction and the scrolls 210 have rotated slightly in a counter-clockwise direction. Specifically, as the actuator (not shown) causes the ring gear 205 to rotate, the interaction between the gear teeth 209 of the ring gear 205 and the gear teeth 211 of the scrolls 210 causes the scrolls 210 to also rotate. As the scrolls 210 begin to rotate, the rim 302 of the lowermost cup 301 is no longer supported by the support ledges 212 of the scrolls 210. However, the stack of cups 300 remains supported by the scrolls 210 because upon this first degree of rotation the rim of the second lowermost cup 303 in the stack of cups 300 rests atop of the top surface 215 of the cup separator projections 213 of the scrolls 210. The lowermost cup 301 remains attached to the second lowermost cup 303 due to friction between the cups.

[0056] Referring to FIG. 7C, as the scrolls 210 continue to rotate in the counter-clockwise direction, the cup splitter 213 wedges itself in between the lowermost cup 301 and the second lowermost cup 303 to force the lowermost cup 301 to separate from the second lowermost cup 303 and be dispensed. Because the bottom surface 214 of the cup splitter 213 is angled (or helical), rotation of the scrolls 210 causes the lowermost cup 301 to be pushed downwardly away from the second lowermost cup 303. Specifically, as the scrolls 210 rotate the distance between the portion of the top surface 215 of the cup splitter 213 that supports the second lowermost cup 303 and the portion of the bottom surface 214 of the cup splitter 213 that is contacting the lowermost cup 301 increases, which increases the size of the space/distance between the lowermost cup 301 and the second lowermost cup 303. Eventually, there is insufficient friction between the lowermost cup 301 and the second lowermost cup 303 for the lowermost cup 301 to remain attached to the stack 300. Furthermore, at this time the lowermost cup 301 is not supported by the scrolls 210 or any other component of the cup dispensing assembly 200. Thus, once a sufficient space is created between the lowermost cup 301 and the second lowermost cup 303, the lowermost cup 301 is dispensed through the opening 202.

[0057] Specifically, referring to FIG. 7D, the lowermost cup 301 is illustrated having been separated from the second lowermost cup 303 such that the lowermost cup 301 is being dispensed through the opening 202. At the next stage in the beverage generating process, water or the like will be injected into the lowermost cup 301 to generate the desired beverage as the water mixes with the ingredient pre-filled in the lowermost cup 301.

[0058] Referring to FIGS. 7E and 7F, once the lowermost cup 301 in the stack has been dispensed, the ring gear 205 is made to rotate in the opposite direction. Thus, during dispensing of the lowermost cup 301 from the stack the ring gear 205 was rotating in a clockwise direction and after dispensing of the lowermost cup 301 from the stack the ring gear 205 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction. Of course, the direction at which the ring gear 205 rotates could be opposite to that which is described herein with reference to the exemplified embodiment. Specifically, the ring gear 205 is rotated in the opposite direction to “reset” the position of the ring gear 205 and of the scrolls 210 back to the position of FIG. 7A. Thus, the ring gear 205 and the scrolls 210 rotate back to the initial position whereby the previously denoted second lowermost cup 303 (which is now the lowermost cup because the previously denoted lowermost cup 301 has been dispensed) rests atop of the support ledges 212 of the scrolls 210. Similar to that which was described above, rotation of the ring gear 205 causes rotation of the scrolls 210 due to the interaction between the gear teeth 209 of the ring gear 205 and the gear teeth 211 of the scrolls 210.

[0059] Thus, the ring gear 205 and the scrolls 210 do not rotate a full 360° in accordance with the exemplary embodiment. Rather, the ring gear 205 and the scrolls 210 may rotate up to 300° in some embodiments, or up to any one of 290°, 280°, 270°, 260°, 250°, 240°, 230°, 220°, 210°, 200°, 190°, 180°, 170°, 160°, 150° in other embodiments. Specifically, the ring gear 205 and the scrolls 210 may rotate up to 300° (or any of the other distances) in the first direction during dispensing of the lowermost cup 301, and then the ring gear 205 and the scrolls 210 may rotate up to 300° (or any of the other distances) in a second direction that is opposite the first direction to “reset” back to the non-dispensing position.

[0060] Conventionally, Tn Cup’ vending machines such as the one described herein above (although not limited to this particular machine) have dispensed the desired beverage in a plastic cup. However, there is a current trend to find alternatives to plastic in all industries, including in Tn Cup’ beverage vending machines. However, some conventional paper cups do not work properly when used with the machine 100 described above (and with other style Tn Cup’ vending machines). Thus, there is a need for modified paper cups that can be used with the machine 100 with improved reliability in the dispensing process.

[0061] Referring to FIG. 8, a stack of cups 350 that can be used by the machine 100 for purposes of vending a beverage for a consumer is illustrated. The stack of cups 350 comprises a plurality of cups 351 formed from paper and arranged in a stack. In some embodiments, the cups described herein as being formed from paper may be devoid of a polyethylene liner, or may contain a liner having a sufficiently low weight percentage of polyethylene or other plastics such that the cups are capable of being recycled in normal paper waste streams. The paper cups may contain a water-based dispersion barrier in place of the typical polyethylene liner, such water- based dispersion barriers comprising polymers that are heat- sealable, block resistant, and provide a liquid barrier while still being recyclable in standard paper waste streams and biodegradable. All of the cups described below with reference to FIGS. 8-18 may be formed from paper in some embodiments. As used herein, the paper includes card material, card stock, paperboard, cardboard, paper, combinations thereof, or the like.

[0062] For use with a beverage vending machine like the machine 100, a plurality of cups (such as the cups 351) are stacked together with each cup 351 positioned within a cavity of a cup 351 below it to form the stack of cups 350. The stack of cups 350 may then be enclosed within a package 399, which may be a bag, a plastic enclosure, a box including a cardboard box, or the like. The package 399 can be closed or otherwise sealed to maintain the cups 351 in the stacked arrangement so that the powder ingredient held therein remains located within each of the cups 351 (the upper-most cup may be capped to prevent the powder ingredient from spilling out of that cup in some embodiments). The stack of cups 350 can then be shipped or otherwise brought to its destination while remaining enclosed in the package 399. Once the stack of cups 350 arrives at its destination, a person in charge of maintenance of the machine 100 can open the machine (see FIG. 2), remove the stack of cups 350 from the package 399, and place the stack of cups 350 on the cup dispensing assembly 200 where the stack of cups 350 can be supported. The cup dispensing assembly 200 can then dispense the cups 351 from the stack 350 one at a time as consumers interact with the machine 100 to request generation of a beverage. Thus, the cups 351 may be pre-filled with the powder ingredient and also pre-stacked before being placed into the machine 100.

[0063] Each of the cups 351 comprises a bottom end 352, a rim 353, a floor 354, and a sidewall 355. The sidewall 355 comprises a first portion 356 that extends from the floor 354 to the rim 353 and a second portion 357 that extends from the floor 354 to the bottom end 352 of the cup 351. The sidewall 355 comprises an inner surface 358 and an outer surface 359 opposite the inner surface 358. The first portion 356 of the sidewall 355 and the floor 354 collectively define a cavity 360. Furthermore, a powder ingredient 361 is located within the cavity 360 of each of the cups 351. That is, the powder ingredient 361 is placed into the cavity 360 and it rests atop of the floor 354 of the cup 351 within the cavity 360. In some embodiments, each of the cups 351 in the stack 350 will contain the same powder ingredient 361 so that the stack 350 can be supported by one of the cup dispensing sections 201 of the cup dispensing assembly 200. Thus, when a user selects a beverage that is associated with the powder ingredient 361 contained in the cups 351, the cup dispensing assembly 200 will dispense one of the cups 351, inject water therein, and present the cup 351 to the user for consumption as previously described.

[0064] As noted above, the second portion 357 of the sidewall 355 extends from the floor 354 to the bottom end 352 of the cup 351. As a result, the floor 354 of the cup 351 is elevated above the bottom end 352 of the cup 351. Furthermore, a pocket 362 is formed between a bottom surface of the floor 354 and the bottom end 352 of the cup 351. The cups 351 are stacked together to form the stack of cups 350 shown in FIG. 8 by inserting each cup 351 inside of the cavity 360 of another one of the cups 351. Thus, each cup 351 other than the lowermost cup of the stack of cups 350 is positioned within the cavity 360 of an adjacent one of the cups 351 in the stack of cups 350. The cup 351 is inserted into the cavity 360 of an adjacent cup 351 until the bottom end 352 of the cup 351 contacts or becomes embedded within the powder ingredient 361 of the adjacent cup 351. Typically, the bottom end 352 of each cup 351 will be embedded within the powder ingredient 361 of the adjacent cup 351 within which it is positioned so that the powder ingredient 361 in the lower cup is located within the pocket 362 of the higher cup that is located within the lower cup.

[0065] In the exemplified embodiment, the first portion 356 of the sidewall 355 has a first length LI and the second portion 357 of the sidewall 355 has a second length L2. The first length LI may be between 75mm and 85mm in some embodiments, and more specifically between 78mm and 82mm. The second length L2 may be between 10mm and 12mm in some embodiments, and more specifically between 10.5mm and 11.5mm. In some embodiments, a ratio of the first length LI to the second length L2 may be in a range of 6.5:1 and 8:1, and more specifically between 7:1 and 7.5:1. These length and ratio measurements may be applicable to all of the various embodiments of cups disclosed herein.

[0066] A top portion 363 of the first portion 356 of the sidewall 355 may be rolled to form the rim 353 of the cup 400. That is, to form the rim, the top portion 363 of the first portion 356 of the sidewall 355 may be rolled upon itself, which forms the rim 353 and provides the rim 353 with some structural rigidity that is greater than the rigidity of the non-rolled portions of the sidewall 355. This structural rigidity of the rim 353 is helpful in allowing the cup dispensing assembly 200 to dispense the cups 351 without damaging the rim 353 and also allows for proper use of the cups 351 while the cups 351 maintain their structural integrity.

[0067] Referring to FIGS. 9, 10, and 10A, a problem that may arise when using the cups 351 shown in FIG. 8 with the cup dispensing assembly 200 (or any cup dispensing assembly of any other style beverage vending machine) will be described. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a first one of the cups 351a is inserted into the cavity 360b of a second one of the cups 351b to form the stack 350. The first one of the cups 351a contains a powder ingredient 361a and the second one of the cups 351b contains a powder ingredient 361b, with the powder ingredients 361a, 361b being the same. As the first one of the cups 351a is inserted into the cavity 360b of the second one of the cups 351b, an air flow is created as the first one of the cups 351a replaces the air in the cavity 360b of the second one of the cups 351b. Furthermore, as the first one of the cups 351a is moved further downwardly into the cavity 360b of the second one of the cups 351b, the bottom end 352a of the first one of the cups 351a gets closer to the powder ingredient 360b in the second one of the cups 351b, leaving less room between the first and second ones of the cups 351a, 351b for the air to flow outwardly from the cavity 360b of the second one of the cups 351b. Thus, at some point during this process, the air will flow through the powder ingredient 360b in the second one of the cups 351b (see arrows in FIG. 10A). The air flow may carry some of the powder ingredient 360b in the second one of the cups 351b into a space 370 between the sidewall 355a of the first one of the cups 351a and the sidewall 355b of the second one of the cups 351b.

[0068] Thus, an issue with the cups 351 is that during the act of stacking one cup inside the other, an air flow is created that causes some of the powdered ingredients within the lower cup to get dislodged and trapped between the side walls of the adjacent cups. This has downstream implications of increasing the force required to split cups during the vending cycle and causing residual powdered ingredient remaining attached to the outside of cups after vending. Specifically, when some of the powder ingredient 361b is located in the space 370 between the first and second ones of the cups 351a, 351b, that powder ingredient 361b causes friction that increases the force required to split the cups. This may make it so that the cups fail to separate during the cup dispensing process, the cup being dispensed becoming deformed during the cup dispensing process, or some other undesirable result. Moreover, the powder ingredient may remain located on the exterior surface of nested cups (in this case, the first one of the cups 351a), which is undesirable because then the powder ingredient 361 becomes attached to a user’s hand when he/she grips the cup to consume the beverage. Thus, a need exists for an improved cup that can be formed into a stack with other similar cups and then properly dispensed from the cup dispensing assembly 200 (or any other type of cup dispensing assembly) as described herein. [0069] Referring to FIGS. 11-1 IB, a cup 400 will be described in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The cup 400 is very similar to the cup 351 described above with reference to FIGS. 8-10A. Thus, features of the cup 351 are also applicable to the cup 400, and it should be appreciated that much of the description of the cup 351 above is applicable to the cup 400, except where it conflicts with the description of the cup 400 provided herein.

[0070] The cup 400 is preferably formed from paper or paper-based materials (including but not limited to card, card stock, paperboard, and cardboard material), although this may not be required in all embodiments. In some embodiments, the cup 400 may contain a sufficiently low weight percentage of plastic or other non-paper materials that it is configured to be recycled in standard paper waste streams. In other embodiments, the cup 400 may be formed predominately from paper, while still having a polyethylene liner. In other embodiments, the cup 400 may be formed entirely from paper and have no polyethylene liner. The cup 400 is configured to be used in an “In Cup” beverage vending machine (such as the machine 100 described above) that creates a beverage in a disposable cup and then presents the disposable cup with the beverage therein to a consumer for consumption. Thus, a plurality of the cups 400 are configured to be arranged in a stack to form a stack of cups 470 such as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B. Although FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate two of the cups 400 in the stack 470, the stack 470 may contain any number of the cups 400, such as twenty of the cups in one example. Thus, the cups 400 can be stacked in much the same manner as the cups 351 shown and described with reference to FIG. 8. [0071] The cup 400 extends from a bottom end 401 to a top end 402 and comprises a floor 410, a sidewall 420, and a rim 415. The rim 415 may be formed by rolling a top portion of the sidewall 420 as described previously herein. The sidewall 420 comprises a first portion 430 that extends from the floor 410 to the top end 402 (or to the rim 415) of the cup 400 and a second portion 440 that extends from the floor 410 to the bottom end 401 of the cup 400. Thus, the floor 410 is elevated above the bottom end 401 of the cup 400 and does not form the bottom-most part of the cup 400.

[0072] The first portion 430 of the sidewall 420 comprises an outer surface 431 and an inner surface 432. Similarly, the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 comprises an outer surface 441 and an inner surface 442. The outer surfaces 431, 441 of the first and second portions 430, 440 of the sidewall 420 collectively form a smooth, uninterrupted outer surface of the cup 400. In the exemplified embodiment, the outer surfaces 431, 441 of the first and second portions 430, 440 of the sidewall 420 lie in or define the same plane (i.e., they are coplanar) such that they form a continuous outer surface of the cup 400. Thus, the cup 400 does not have any breaks, shoulders, ledges, or the like at the transition between the first and second portions 430, 440 of the sidewall 420 in the exemplified embodiment. Of course, the outer surface of the cup 400 could have various textures to enhance gripping and reduce heat transfer to a consumer’s hand while the outer surfaces 431, 441 of the first and second portions 430, 440 of the sidewall 420 remain coplanar. Furthermore, the outer surface of the cup 400 could include various protuberances or the like to facilitate a better locking between adjacent cups 400 when stacked. [0073] The inner surface 432 of the first portion 430 of the sidewall 420 and the floor 410 collectively define a cavity 450 of the cup 400. The cavity 450 of the cup 400 extends along a longitudinal axis A-A and is configured to hold a beverage for user consumption. Prior to beverage generation within the Tn Cup’ beverage machine, a powder ingredient 460 is supported by the floor 410 within the cavity 450 of the cup 400. Thus, when a plurality of the cups 400 are arranged in a stack (see, for example, the stack 470 shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B and the stack 350 shown in FIG. 8) within the ‘In Cup’ beverage machine, they already have the powder ingredient 460 therein.

[0074] The powder ingredient 460 may be any of a variety of different ingredients that can be used to form a soup or beverage when water is added into the cavity 450 of the cup 400. Thus, the powder ingredient 460 may be coffee grounds, coffee grounds mixed with sugar, coffee grounds mixed with a whitener, coffee grounds mixed with sugar and a whitener, a tea ingredient, a soup base ingredient, a flavored beverage powder, a cocoa powder used for making hot chocolate, or any other type of ingredient that can be used to form a beverage, soup, or the like that can be generated and dispensed by the beverage vending machine 100.

[0075] In the exemplified embodiment, the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 comprises a plurality of apertures 445. Specifically, each of the apertures 445 is an opening that extends entirely through the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 from the outer surface 441 to the inner surface 442. In the embodiment of FIGS. 11-1 IB, each of the apertures 445 extends from the bottom end 401 of the cup 400 in a direction towards the floor 410. Thus, in this embodiment, the apertures 445 form a notch in the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 that is open along the bottom end 401 of the cup 400. It should be appreciated that the apertures 445 should not extend past an upper surface of the floor 410 so as to extend into the first portion 430 because this would render the vending cups 400 unable to contain a beverage (i.e., a beverage in the cavity 450 would flow out through any apertures in the first portion 430). Thus, the apertures 445 are formed only into the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420, which is the portion of the sidewall 420 that is between the floor 410 and the bottom end 401 of the cup 400. The first portion 430 is devoid of any apertures therein.

[0076] It should be noted that the apertures 445 are not merely indentations, depressions, or channels formed into the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420. Rather, the apertures 445 are openings that form a passageway through the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 from the outer surface 441 thereof to the inner surface 442 thereof.

[0077] In the exemplified embodiment, the plurality of apertures 445 are arranged in a circumferentially spaced apart manner. Moreover, the plurality of apertures 445 are equidistantly spaced apart from one another along the circumference of the second portion 440. The apertures 445 are reasonably large in size and have a collective area that is approximately equal to the area of the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420. Of course, in other embodiments the spacing between the plurality of apertures 445 may be varied. Furthermore, the exact size, dimensions, area, and the like of the various apertures 445 are not limited to that which is depicted in the drawings. The size, dimensions, area, and the like may be consistent or varied among the apertures 445. Although in the exemplified embodiment there are a plurality of the apertures 445, in some other embodiments there may be just a single aperture 445 extending along a portion of the circumference of the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420.

[0078] In the exemplified embodiment, each of the apertures 445 extends form the bottom end 401 of the cup 400 to a region that is immediately below the floor 410 of the cup 400. Thus, in the exemplified embodiment the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 comprises an annular portion 443 that is adjacent to the floor 410 and a plurality of tab portions 444 extending downwardly from the annular portion 443 to the bottom end 401 of the cup 400 in a circumferentially spaced-apart manner. In other embodiments, the annular portion 443 may be omitted and the tab portions 444 may extend directly from the floor 410 to the bottom end 401 of the cup 400 in a spaced apart manner. In either case, the apertures 445 in this embodiment are the spaces between the tab portions 444. Thus, the apertures 445 are located either between the annular portion 443 of the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 and the bottom end 401 of the cup 400 or between the floor 410 and the bottom end 401 of the cup 400, depending on whether the annular portion 443 is included or omitted. The tab portions 444 may have a square/rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 11, or they may have any other shape including triangular (FIG. 12), curved and U-shaped (FIG. 13), irregular shapes, other polygonal shapes, or the like. There is virtually no limit to the shape of the tab portions 444 so long as they are spaced apart as noted herein to form the apertures 445 in the second portion 440 of the sidewall 410 between adjacent ones of the tab portions 444. Similarly, the apertures 445 in the exemplified embodiment are square or rectangular, but they may also take on any shape as may be desired. The apertures 445 can have any desired shape (circular, octagonal, triangular, regular or irregular polygons) and size. The apertures 445 may also form letters that spell out a word which could be used for advertising purposes if, for example, the word spelled by the apertures 445 is associated with the manufacturer of the cup or machine being used to dispense the cup. The apertures 445 could also form numbers, graphics, or virtually any design desired.

[0079] The second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 comprises a bottom edge 446 that forms the bottom end 401 of the cup 400. As noted previously, the apertures 445 are notches that extend from the bottom edge 446 of the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 towards the floor 410, and thus the bottom end 401 of the cup 400 has openings formed by the apertures (e.g., notches) 445. Due to the inclusion of the apertures 445 as notches as described herein, the bottom edge 446 of the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 comprises a plurality of low points 447 that collectively form the bottom end 401 of the cup 400 and a plurality of high points 448 that are located between the bottom end 401 of the cup 400 and the floor 410 of the cup 400. Thus, the bottom edge 446 of the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 is non-planar because it includes the low points 447 and the high points 448. The bottom end 401 of the cup 400 lies in a plane B- B. The apertures 445 are formed by the spaces between the high points 448 of the bottom edge 446 of the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 and the plane B-B. The bottom edge 446 of the second portion 440 of the sidewall 420 has a castellated shape in FIG. 11, but may have other shapes including but not limited to the jagged shape shown in FIG. 12 and the sinusoidal shape shown in FIG. 13.

[0080] One of the benefits of including the plurality of apertures 445 (which could be a single aperture instead of a plurality of apertures in some embodiments) is that it provides a path for air to flow through as one cup is being inserted into the cavity of another cup during stacking of the cups to form the stack 470. As noted above with reference to FIGS. 9, 10, and 10A, without the apertures the process of inserting one cup into another may cause air to flow through the powder ingredient, which may cause the powder ingredient to get stuck to the outside of the cup and also create failures during attempts to dispense the cups by the machine 100. By including the apertures 445 in the second portion 440, air is free to flow through the apertures 445 rather than through the powder ingredient to prevent the powder ingredient from flowing up and getting stuck on the outer surface of the vending cup.

[0081] Specifically, as best shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, as the upper cup 400 nests further within the cavity 450 of the lower cup 400 and the bottom end 401 of the upper cup 400 begins to contact the powder ingredient 460 in the lower cup 400, the air will be able to flow through the apertures 445 (or through the spaces between the tab portions 444). With the cups 351 described above with reference to FIGS. 8-10A, once the upper cup was close to or in contact with the powder ingredient in the lower cup, the air was forced to flow through the powder ingredient in the lower cup which had the potential to create issues during and after cup dispensing. With the cups 400, the air flows through the apertures 445 (the path of least resistance) even as the bottom end 401 of the cup 400 is becoming embedded within the powder ingredient 460 in the lower cup within which the cup 400 is nesting to form the stack 470. Thus, the air can flow in the space between the cups but it does not bring any of the powder ingredients with it.

[0082] Referring to FIG. 12, a cup 400a is illustrated that is identical to the cup 400 in all aspects except with regard to the shape of the plurality of apertures 445a. In this embodiment, the plurality of apertures 445a have a triangular shape. Similarly, the tab portions 444a of the second portion 440a of the sidewall 420a have a triangular shape. Furthermore, FIG. 13 illustrates a cup 400b that is identical to the cup 400 in all aspects except with regard to the shape of the plurality of apertures 445b. In this embodiment, the plurality of apertures 445b and the tab portions 444b of the second portion 440b of the sidewall 420b are in the shape of a rounded triangle. As a result, the plurality of apertures 445b collectively form a sinusoidal shape along the second portion 440b. Stated another way, the second portion 440b of the sidewall 420b has a sinusoidal shape in this embodiment. An additional benefit of the variation of the cups 400a, 400b of FIGS. 12 and 13 is that the apertures 445a, 445b are tapered as they extend away from the bottom end 401a, 401b of the cup 400a, 400b and towards the floor 410a, 410b of the cup 400a, 400b, which may encourage the powdered ingredients contained in those cups 400a, 400b to flow away from the leading edge of the inserted cup which helps to prevent the powdered ingredients from becoming trapped between the cups.

[0083] Referring to FIG. 14, another alternative embodiment of a cup 400c is illustrated. The cup 400c is identical to the cup 400 except with regard to the positioning and shape of the apertures 445c. The cup 400c extends from a bottom end 401c to a top end 402c. Furthermore, the cup 400c comprises a sidewall 420c, a floor 410c, and a rim 403c which may be formed by rolling a top portion of the sidewall 420c. A first portion 430c of the sidewall 420c extends from the floor 410c to the top end 402c of the cup 400c and a second portion 440c of the sidewall 420c extends from the floor 410c to the bottom end 401c of the cup 400c. In this embodiment, the sidewall is planar from the bottom end 401c to the rim 403c. That is, the first and second portions 430c, 440c of the sidewall 420c are coplanar, similar to the cups 400, 400a, 400b.

[0084] The plurality of apertures 445c are formed through the second portion 440c in a circumferentially spaced apart manner. That is, the apertures 445c extend through the second portion 440c of the sidewall 420c from an outer surface 441c thereof to an inner surface 442c thereof and form a passageway or opening through the thickness of the second portion 440c of the sidewall 420c. However, in this embodiment the plurality of apertures 445c do not extend to the bottom end 401c of the cup 400c and the apertures 44c therefore cannot be properly characterized as notches (a notch being an indentation, incision, or cut-out in an edge of an object). Thus, the apertures 445c do not form openings in the bottom end 401c of the cup 400c. Rather, the plurality of apertures 445c are located entirely between the bottom end 401c of the cup 400c and the floor 410c such that the apertures 445c form a closed geometric shape. The apertures 445c are through-holes having a closed geometric shape that are spaced apart from the bottom end 401c of the cup 400c. This variation achieves the same benefits as those described above, albeit in a different structural solution. That is, as the cups 400c are being stacked, the air being displaced from the cavity of the lower cup can pass through the apertures 445c (i.e., the through-holes) rather than passing through the powder ingredient and causing the powder ingredient to become trapped between the sidewalls of the adjacent cups in the stack.

[0085] In the exemplified embodiment, the apertures 445c are in the shape of a square or rectangle. However, the invention is not to be limited by the shape of the apertures 445c in all embodiments and they could take on any shape including being any polygonal shape, circular shape, irregular shape, oval shape, or the like. The apertures 445c are arranged along the second portion 440c of the cup 400c in a circumferentially spaced apart manner. In the exemplified embodiment, each of the apertures 445c is perfectly aligned with each of the other apertures 445c and the apertures 445c are all located at the same height along the second portion 440c of the sidewall 420c. The invention is not to be so limited in all embodiments and the apertures 445c could be positioned at varying heights along the second portion 440c of the sidewall 420c and need not be perfectly aligned in all embodiments. In the exemplified embodiment, the apertures 445c are positioned just below the floor 410c, but the invention is not to be so limited and the apertures 445c could be closer to the bottom end 401c than to the floor 410c in other embodiments. Thus, there is plenty of variation possible within the scope of the invention described herein and apertures of any size, shape, location, spacing, or the like may be included on the second portion 440c of the sidewall 420c. The apertures 445c could be elongated in a direction extending between the bottom and top ends 401c, 402c of the cup 400c or the apertures 445c could be elongated in a direction transverse to the direction extending between the bottom and top ends 401c, 402c of the cup 400c.

[0086] In the exemplified embodiment, the apertures 445c are reasonably large in size. However, the invention is not to be so limited in all embodiments and the cross-sectional area of the apertures 445c could have a large range so long as the apertures 445c are configured to allow air to flow therethrough during stacking of the cups 400c as has been described herein. Thus, the apertures 445c may have a cross-sectional area of between 0.5mm and 200mm in various different embodiments. Furthermore, the aforementioned cross-sectional area is not to be limiting of the invention in all embodiments and cross-sectional areas outside of that range may also be used in other embodiments. The second portion 440c of the sidewall 420c should remain sufficiently rigid so that it the cup 400c can be placed with the bottom end 401c of the cup 400c in contact with a horizontal surface (i.e., a desk, table, or the like). Thus, although the size and cross-sectional area of the apertures 445c may be varied, it should be done while being mindful of the strength and rigidity of the second portion 440c of the sidewall 420c to ensure that it can still maintain the cup 400c in an upright orientation.

[0087] In some embodiments, a cup may be used that includes both through-holes (i.e., the apertures 445c) and notches (i.e., the apertures 445, 445a, 445b). One example of this is shown in FIG. 18 described below. Thus, the inventive cup disclosed herein may include apertures that are notches, apertures that are through-holes, or both apertures that are notches and apertures that are through-holes.

[0088] Referring to FIGS. 15-16B, a cup 500 is illustrated in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention. Similar to the previously described embodiments, the cup 500 extends from a bottom end 501 to a top end 502 along an axis C-C. The cup 500 comprises a floor 510, a rim 503, and a sidewall 520. The sidewall 520 comprises a first portion 530 that extends from the floor 510 to the top end 502 of the cup 500 (or to the rim 503 of the cup 500) and a second portion 540 that extends from the floor 510 to the bottom end 501 of the cup 500. Thus, the floor 510 is elevated above the bottom end 501 of the cup 500 and does not form the bottom-most part of the cup 500. The floor 510 and the first portion 530 of the sidewall 520 collectively define a cavity 550 for holding a powder ingredient 560 and the beverage once formed. The sidewall 530 has an outer surface 531 and an inner surface 532. [0089] In this embodiment, the second portion 540 is noncoplanar with the first portion 530. Rather, the second portion 540 is flared such that it forms a sort of skirt of the cup 500. Thus, the second portion 540 is oriented obliquely relative to the first portion 530. The first portion 530 of the sidewall 520 is oriented so that the outer surface 531 of the first portion 530 converges towards the axis C-C as the first portion 530 extends from the top end 502 of the cup 500 towards the floor 510. Stated another way, the first portion 530 of the sidewall 520 diverges from the axis C-C with increasing distance form the floor 510 towards the rim 503 of the cup 500. In the exemplified embodiment, the second portion 540 of the sidewall 520 is oriented so that the outer surface 541 of the second portion 540 of the sidewall 520 diverges from the axis C- C as the second portion 540 of the sidewall 520 extends from the floor 510 to the bottom end 501 of the cup 500. In other embodiments, the second portion 540 may be oriented so that the outer surface 541 of the second portion 540 is parallel to the axis C-C.

[0090] The first portion 530 of the sidewall 520 and the second portion 540 of the sidewall 520 intersect at an oblique angle at a position that is aligned with the floor 510 of the cup 500. Furthermore, the first and second portions 530, 540 of the sidewall 520 intersect at a transition region 509 of the outer surface of the sidewall 520. As seen in the figures, the transition region between the first and second portions 530, 540 of the sidewall 520 is free of any ledges or shoulders. Thus, the transition region 509 is a smooth, continuous, and uninterrupted portion of the outer surface of the sidewall 520. The second portion 540 of the sidewall 520 transitions seamlessly into the first portion 530 of the sidewall 520 and neither of the first and second portions 530, 540 of the sidewall 520 is offset radially inward or outward of the other. Stated another way, a top end of the second portion 540 of the sidewall 520 and a bottom end of the first portion 530 of the sidewall 520 are located at the same radial position relative to the axis C- C to achieve the seamless transition described herein and ensure that the outer surface of the cup 500 is a continuous, smooth, and uninterrupted surface even at the transition region 509. It should be noted that the cup 500 may include a seam that runs vertically from the rim of the cup 500 to the bottom end of the cup 500 for purposes of sealing the sidewall 520 to itself, and this seam is not considered to affect the smooth, continuous, and uninterrupted nature of the outer surface of the sidewall 520 at the transition region 509. [0091] As shown particularly in FIGS. 16A and 16B, as a result of this arrangement and orientation of the first and second portions 530, 540 of the sidewall 520, as one of the cups 500 is inserted into the cavity 550 of another one of the cups 500, the bottom end 501 of the cup 500 being inserted mbs, brushes, or wipes against the inner surface 532 of the first portion 530 of the sidewall 520 of the other cup 500. As a result, there is no gap between the cup 500 being inserted and the other cup 500 during this insertion process as the cup being inserted nears the powder ingredient 560 located within the other cup 500. Thus, there is no space for the powder ingredient 560 to escape up the sidewalls 520 of the cup 500 being inserted. Furthermore, any of the powder ingredient 560 that does flow into the space between the cups may be wiped downwardly by the second portion 540 of the sidewall 520 of the cup being inserted. When the two cups 500 are fully nested and stacked, the second portion 540 of the sidewall 520 of the upper cup is in contact with the inner surface 532 of the first portion 530 of the sidewall 520 of the adjacent lower cup within which the upper cup is positioned.

[0092] FIG. 17 illustrates a cup 600 that includes features from the cup 500 of FIG. 400 of FIG. 11. Specifically, the cup 600 comprises a bottom end 601, a top end 602, a rim 603, a floor 610, and a sidewall 620. The cup 600 extends from the bottom end 601 to the top end 602 along a longitudinal axis D-D. The sidewall 620 comprises a first portion 630 that extends from the floor 610 to the top end 602 (or to the rim 603) and a second portion 640 that extends from the floor 610 to the bottom end 601. In this embodiment, the first and second portions 630, 640 of the sidewall are non-coplanar such that they intersect at an oblique angle. The first portion 630 of the sidewall 620 is oriented so as to diverge from axis D-D with increasing distance from the floor 610 towards the second end 602 of the cup 600. The second portion 640 of the sidewall 620 is either: (1) parallel to the longitudinal axis D-D; or (2) diverges from the longitudinal axis D-D with increasing distance from the floor 610 towards the bottom end 601 of the cup 600. Thus, the second portion 640 of the sidewall 620 of one cup 600 will wipe against the inner surface of the first portion 630 of the sidewall 620 of another cup 600 as the one cup 600 is being inserted into the cavity of the another cup 600.

[0093] In some embodiments, the first portion 630 of the sidewall 620 may have a first draft angle and the second portion 640 of the sidewall 620 may have a second draft angle, the first draft angle being greater than the second draft angle. The draft angle is the angle formed between the sidewall 620 and the longitudinal axis of the cup 600. The first and second portions 630, 640 of the sidewall 620 may intersect at an angle of between 160° and 179° in some embodiments, and more specifically between 170° and 178°.

[0094] In this embodiment, in addition to the non-coplanar structure of the sidewall 620, the second portion 640 of the sidewall 620 comprises a plurality of apertures 645 therein. In the exemplified embodiment, the aperture 645 are slits notches, or cut-outs formed into the second portion 540 of the sidewall 620 and arranged in a circumferentially spaced apart manner. The apertures 645 extend from the bottom end 601 of the cup 600 towards the floor 610, thereby forming openings in the bottom end 601 of the cup 600.. In addition to allowing for air flow through the apertures 645 during cup stacking as has been discussed herein, the apertures 645 may serve another function in this embodiment. Specifically, because each cup 600 being inserted into another cup 600 will have the second portion 640 of its sidewall 620 contact the sidewall 620 of the cup that it is being inserted into, there may be a desire for the second portion 640 of the sidewall 620 to have some flexibility. Specifically, orienting the second portion 540 of the sidewall 520 as described (parallel to the longitudinal axis D-D or flaring outwardly with increasing distance from the floor 610) may increase the separation force required to individually separate the cups during a dispensing operation the second portion 640 of the sidewall 620 may become deformed when being seated into the cup in which it is positioned. By adding the apertures 645, the second portion 640 of the sidewall 620 can flex inwardly during separation to assist with the separation process.

[0095] FIG. 18 illustrates a cup 700 that includes features from the cup 400 of FIG. 11, the cup 400c of FIG. 14, and the cup 500 of FIG. 15. That is, the cup 700 includes a plurality of apertures 745 that includes notches 745a as described herein above with reference to the cups 400, 400a, 400b and through-holes 745b as described herein above with reference to the cups 400c. Furthermore, in this embodiment the cup 700 extends from a bottom end 701 to a top end 702. The cup 700 includes a floor 710 and a sidewall 720, the sidewall 720 comprising a first portion 730 that extends from the floor 710 to the top end 702 and a second portion 740 that extends from the floor 710 to the bottom end 701. The first and second portions 730, 740 of the sidewall are non-coplanar. That is, the first portion 730 of the sidewall 720 diverges with distance from the floor 710 towards the top end 702 and the second portion 740 of the sidewall 720 is either parallel to the axis of the cup 700 or diverges with increasing distance from the floor 710 towards the bottom end 701 of the cup 700. This combines all of the benefits of all of the variations of the cups described herein. Some of the benefits of the different embodiments described herein include having more reliable vending of cups and less powder or powder ingredient debris on the outside of the cups once vended.

[0096] It should be appreciated that the structure of the cup is depicted somewhat generically in FIGS. 8-18, particularly in terms of the relationship between the sidewall and the floor. FIG. 19 illustrates a representation of a cup 800 in which the features described herein may be incorporated. Specifically, the cup 800 comprises a sidewall 820 and a floor 810. The floor 810 comprises a horizontal portion 811 and an annular flange portion 812 extending downwardly from the horizontal portion 811. Furthermore, the sidewall 820 wraps around the annular flange portion 812 of the floor 810. Thus, the sidewall 820 comprises a first portion 821 that extends from the horizontal portion 811 of the floor 810 to a rim 805 of the cup 800 and a second portion

822 that extends from the floor 810 to a bottom end 801 of the cup 800. However, the second portion 822 of the sidewall 820 is bent into a U- shape and comprises an exterior annular portion

823 and an interior annular portion 824.

[0097] That is, the second portion 822 of the sidewall 820 is bent into a U shape, and the annular flange portion 812 of the floor 810 is positioned within the interior of the U shape formed by the sidewall 820. The exterior annular portion 823 of the second portion 822 of the sidewall 820 covers an outer surface of the annular flange portion 812 of the floor 810 and the interior annular portion 824 of the second portion 822 of the sidewall 820 covers an inner surface of the annular flange portion 812 of the floor 810 In such an embodiment, any apertures, holes, or cutouts formed into the sidewall 820 as described above would extend through both legs of the U of the sidewall and through the annular flange portion 812 of the floor 810. That is, the apertures, holes, cutouts, or notches extend through the exterior annular portion 823 of the second portion 822 of the sidewall 820, the annular flange portion 812 of the floor 810, and the inner annular portion 824 of the second portion 822 of the sidewall 820. In such embodiments, the second portion 822 of the sidewall 820 which extends from the floor 810 to the bottom end 801 of the cup 800 includes both the exterior annular portion 823 and the interior annular portion 824, and may also comprise the annular flange portion 812 of the floor 810. It should be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art how the concepts described above may be incorporated into the cup 800 shown in FIG. 19.

[0098] In some embodiments, the vending cups described herein may be formed from a paper- based material. Such vending cups may be made out of paper and then lined or coated with plastic or wax to prevent liquid from leaking out or soaking through the paper. Alternatively, the paper cups may be lined with a water-based dispersion barrier that is either free of plastic or includes such a small percentage of plastic that the paper cup is still able to be recycled in the standard paper waste stream. The invention is not limited to the cups being formed from paper in all embodiments and they could be formed from plastic, polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, polylactic acid, metal, or the like in other embodiments.

[0099] As used throughout, ranges are used as shorthand for describing each and every value that is within the range. Any value within the range can be selected as the terminus of the range. In addition, all references cited herein are hereby incorporated by referenced in their entireties. In the event of a conflict in a definition in the present disclosure and that of a cited reference, the present disclosure controls.

[00100] While the invention has been described with respect to specific examples including presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations and permutations of the above described systems and techniques. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thus, the spirit and scope of the invention should be construed broadly as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A stack of cups for a beverage vending machine, the stack of cups comprising: a plurality of cups arranged in a stack, each of the cups comprising: a bottom end; a rim; a floor; a sidewall comprising an inner surface and an outer surface, a first portion of the sidewall extending from the floor to the rim and a second portion of the sidewall extending from the floor to the bottom end, the second portion of the sidewall comprising a plurality of apertures extending from the outer surface of the sidewall to the inner surface of the sidewall; and a cavity defined by the floor and the first portion of the sidewall, the cavity extending along a longitudinal axis; a powder ingredient located in the cavity of each of the cups; and wherein each of the plurality of cups in the stack other than a lowermost cup is at least partially located within the cavity of a lower cup in the stack.

2. The stack of cups according to claim 1 wherein for each of the cups in the stack, the plurality of apertures are arranged along the second portion of the sidewall in a circumferentially spaced apart manner.

3. The stack of cups according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein for each of the cups in the stack, each of the plurality of apertures is a notch that extends from the bottom end of the cup towards the floor.

4. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein for each of the cups in the stack, the second portion of the sidewall has a castellated shape due to the plurality of apertures.

5. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein for each of the cups in the stack, the sidewall comprises a bottom edge having a plurality of low points that collectively form the bottom end of the cup and a plurality of high points that are located between the bottom end of the cup and the floor of the cup.

6. The stack of cups according to claim 5 wherein the bottom edge of the sidewall of each of the cups is non-planar.

7. The stack of cups according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein for each of the cups in the stack, each of the apertures is a closed-geometry through-hole that is spaced from the bottom end of the cup and located between the bottom end of the cup and the floor of the cup.

8. The stack of cups according to claim 1 wherein for each of the cups in the stack, the plurality of apertures comprise a plurality of notches extending from the bottom end of the cup towards the floor and a plurality of through-holes having a closed geometric shape and being spaced from the bottom end of the cup.

9. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein for each of the cups in the stack, the outer surface of the sidewall from the floor of the cup to the rim of the cup lies in a plane that is oblique to the longitudinal axis so that a cross-sectional area of the cavity increases with increasing distance from the floor to the rim.

10. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein for each of the cups in the stack other than the lowermost cup, the bottom end of the cup is embedded within the powder ingredient in the lower cup within which it is positioned.

11. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein for each of the cups in the stack, the second portion of the sidewall is angled relative to the first portion of the sidewall such that the first and second portions of the sidewall are noncoplanar, the outer surface of the sidewall being a smooth and continuous surface that is free of any shoulders or ledges at a seamless transition region between the first and second portions of the sidewall.

12. The stack of cups according to claim 11 wherein for each of the cups in the stack, the first portion of the sidewall diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the rim and the second portion of the sidewall is either: (1) parallel to the longitudinal axis; or (2) diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the bottom end of the cup.

13. The stack of cups according to claim 11 or claim 12 wherein for each of the cups in the stack, the first portion of the sidewall has a first draft angle and the second portion of the sidewall has a second draft angle, the first draft angle being greater than the second draft angle.

14. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein the stack of cups is enclosed in a sealed package.

15. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein each of the cups in the stack is formed from paper.

16. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein a ratio of a length of the first portion of the sidewall to a length of the second portion of the sidewall is between 6.5:1 and 8:1.

17. A beverage vending machine comprising: a cup dispensing assembly supporting a stack of cups and configured to dispense a lowermost cup of the stack of cups by separating the lowermost cup from a remainder of the cups in the stack of cups; the stack of cups comprising a plurality of cups each comprising a cavity containing a powder ingredient, a bottom end, a rim, a floor, and a sidewall having a first portion that extends from the floor to the rim and a second portion that extends from the floor to the bottom end; and a plurality of apertures formed into the second portion of the sidewall so that air flows through the apertures as the cups are stacked to prevent the powder ingredient from becoming trapped in a space between the sidewalls of two adjacent cups in the stack.

18. A cup comprising: a floor; a sidewall comprising a first portion that extends from the floor to a rim of the cup and a second portion that extends from the floor to a bottom end of the cup, the sidewall having an outer surface and an inner surface, the floor and the first portion of the sidewall defining a cavity; a powder ingredient located in the cavity of the cup; and a plurality of apertures extending through the second portion of the sidewall from the outer surface of the second portion of the sidewall to the inner surface of the second portion of the sidewall.

19. The cup according to claim 18 wherein the outer surface of the sidewall is a smooth and uninterrupted surface that is free of any ledges or shoulders in a seamless transition region between the first and second portions of the sidewall.

20. The cup according to claim 18 or claim 19 wherein the plurality of apertures comprise notches that extend from the bottom end of the cup upwardly towards the floor of the cup.

21. The cup according to any one of claims 18 to 20 wherein the second portion of the cup comprises a bottom edge comprising a plurality of low points that form a portion of the bottom end of the cup and a plurality of high points that are located between the bottom end of the cup and the floor of the cup, wherein the bottom end of the cup lies in a plane, and wherein the apertures are defined by spaces between the bottom edge of the second portion of the cup and the plane.

22. The cup according to any one of claims 18 to 21 wherein the plurality of apertures comprise through-holes having a closed geometric shape that are spaced from the bottom end of the cup.

23. A stack of cups for a beverage vending machine, the stack of cups comprising: a plurality of cups arranged in a stack, each of the cups comprising: a rim; a floor; a sidewall extending from a bottom edge to the rim, the bottom edge of the sidewall being non-planar; and a cavity defined by the floor and the sidewall; a powder ingredient located in the cavity of each of the cups; and wherein each of the plurality of cups in the stack other than a lowermost cup is at least partially located within the cavity of a lower cup in the stack.

24. The stack of cups according to claim 23 wherein the bottom edge of the sidewall comprises a plurality of low points that form a portion of a bottom end of the cup and a plurality of high points that are located between the bottom end of the cup and the floor of the cup.

25. A stack of cups for a beverage vending machine, the stack of cups comprising: a plurality of cups arranged in a stack, each of the cups comprising: a bottom end; a rim; a floor; a sidewall comprising a first portion that extends from the floor to the rim and a second portion that extends from the floor to the bottom end; and a cavity extending along a longitudinal axis; a powder ingredient located in the cavity of each of the cups; and wherein the first portion of the sidewall diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the rim and the second portion of the sidewall is either: (1) parallel to the longitudinal axis; or (2) diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the bottom end of the cup; and wherein the first and second portions of the sidewall intersect at a seamless transition region that is free of any shoulder or ledges.

26. The stack of cups according to claim 25 wherein the sidewall comprises an outer surface that is smooth and continuous along the seamless transition region.

27. The stack of cups according to claim 25 or claim 26 wherein the first and second portions of the sidewall intersect at an obtuse angle.

28. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 25 to 27 wherein the plurality of cups are arranged in the stack such that each cup other than a lowermost cup nests within the cavity of an lower cup in the stack, and wherein the second portion of the sidewall of each cup is in contact with an inner surface of the first portion of the sidewall of the lower cup within which the cup is positioned.

29. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 25 to 28 wherein each of the cups is formed from paper.

30. The stack of cups according to any one of claims 25 to 29 further comprising a plurality of apertures formed into the second portion of the sidewall.

31. The vending cup according to claim 30 wherein the plurality of apertures comprises at least one of notches that extend from the bottom end of the cup upwardly towards the floor of the cup and through-holes having a closed geometric shape that are spaced from the bottom end of the cup.

32. A cup comprising: a floor; a sidewall comprising a first portion that extends from the floor to a rim of the cup and a second portion that extends from the floor to a bottom end of the cup, the sidewall having an outer surface and an inner surface, the floor and the first portion of the sidewall defining a cavity; a powder ingredient located in the cavity of the cup; and wherein the first and second portions of the sidewall are noncoplanar, the first and second portions of the sidewall intersecting at a seamless transition region that is free of any shoulders or ledges.

33. The cup according to claim 32, wherein the cup is formed from paper.

34. The cup according to claim 32 or claim 33 further comprising: the cavity having a longitudinal axis; and wherein the first portion of the sidewall diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the rim and the second portion of the sidewall is either: (1) parallel to the longitudinal axis; or (2) diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the bottom end of the cup; and

35. The cup according to any one of claims 32 to 34 further comprising a plurality of apertures extending through the second portion of the sidewall.

36. The cup according to claim 35 wherein the plurality of apertures comprises at least one of notches that extend from the bottom end of the cup upwardly towards the floor of the cup and through-holes having a closed geometric shape that are spaced from the bottom end of the cup.

37. A beverage vending machine comprising: a cup dispensing assembly supporting a stack of cups and configured to dispense a lowermost cup of the stack of cups by separating the lowermost cup from a remainder of the cups in the stack of cups; the stack of cups comprising a plurality of cups each comprising a cavity extending along a longitudinal axis and containing a powder ingredient, a bottom end, a rim, a floor, and a sidewall having a first portion that extends from the floor to the rim and a second portion that extends from the floor to the bottom end; wherein the first portion of the sidewall diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the rim and the second portion of the sidewall is either: (1) parallel to the longitudinal axis; or (2) diverges from the longitudinal axis with increasing distance from the floor towards the bottom end of the cup; and wherein the first and second portions of the sidewall intersect at a seamless transition region that is free of any shoulder or ledges.

38. The beverage vending machine according to claim 37 wherein each of the cups is formed from paper.

39. A cup comprising: a floor; a sidewall comprising a first portion that extends from the floor to a rim of the cup and a second portion that extends from the floor to a bottom end of the cup; and a plurality of apertures formed into the second portion of the sidewall.

40. The cup according to claim 39 further comprising: the plurality of apertures comprising at least one of: (1) notches that extend from the bottom end of the cup upwardly towards the floor of the cup; and (2) through-holes having a closed geometric shape that are spaced from the bottom end of the cup; and wherein the cup is formed from paper.

41. A cup comprising: a longitudinal axis; a floor; a sidewall comprising a first portion that extends from the floor to a rim of the cup and a second portion that extends from the floor to a bottom end of the cup; and wherein the second portion of the sidewall comprises a plurality of tab portions that extend from the floor to the bottom end of the cup in a circumferentially spaced apart manner.