GB2363776A

GB2363776A - Invertable lid for containing an ingredient

Info

Publication number: GB2363776A
Application number: GB0111080A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Oliver
Original assignee: AUTOBAR GROUP Ltd
Current assignee: AUTOBAR GROUP Ltd
Priority date: 2000-05-04
Filing date: 2001-05-04
Publication date: 2002-01-09
Also published as: GB0010832D0; GB0111080D0

Abstract

A container 20 for food or other products has a mouth 12 and a lid 30 which has a cavity 31 in the outside of the lid top for containing a food ingredient. The lid 30 is constructed to be invertable on the mouth 12 and to be attachable in its inverted position so as also to close the mouth 12 in this position. The cavity 31 may initially closed by an aluminium foil, heat sealed to an upper edge of a skirt 35, the foil being remove so that the ingredient in the cavity 31 may be poured into the container 20 for mixing with a liquid. The lid 30 may then be inverted and replaced on the container.

Description

2363776 CONTAINER WITH INGREDIENT COMPARTMENT The present invention

relates to containers for food and other products and, more particularly, to disposable containers fitted with an ingredient compartment from which the ingredient can be added into the container for mixing with a liquid or other ingredient with which the container is prefilled or which may be subsequently added to the container For example, the container may be a disposable drinking cup to which the ingredient from the ingredient compartment is added for the purposes of preparing a selected drink Alternatively, the container may, for example, be a salad container salad dressing being added to the salad in the container from the ingredient compartment preparatory to consumption of the salad.

It is known to provide disposable drinking cups which can be stacked in nested relation with one another and which are designed to contain powdered or granular drinking ingredients, when stacked, in ingredient compartments formed between one cup and the next in the stack The ingredients are trapped in this ingredient compartment ready to make a drink by the addition of water when a cup is pulled from the bottom of the stack.

An object of the present invention is to provide a drinking cup or other container in which the ingredients are contained in a discrete ingredient compartment from which the ingredient can be added to the container when required.

To this end, the invention consists in a container having a mouth and a lid closing the container mouth and having a cavity in the outside of the lid top for containing an ingredient or ingredients, the lid being invertable on the mouth of the container and being attachable to the container in its inverted position so as also to close the container mouth in this position.

The lid may be filled with an ingredient prior to fitting to the container mouth and the open side of the cavity may be sealed with aluminum foil so as to maintain the ingredient in the cavity and preserve it The lid may then be fitted to the container mouth with the foil closure uppermost When the ingredient is required for use, the lid is removed from the container, the foil is 2 removed and the contents from the cavity in the lid are poured into the container and mixed with the contents of the container The container may be re-closed by attaching the lid to the container mouth in its inverted position, whereupon the container may be shaken to mix the contents.

Preferably, the lid is adapted to seal the mouth of the container in both its normal and inverted positions This may be achieved by forming the lid with two endless sealing surfaces which respectively engage with a rim about the container mouth in the normal and inverted positions of the lid so as to seal the container mouth.

Conveniently, the lid is an interference fit with the inside surface of the container, at or adjacent the container mouth, when fitted to the container in its normal position and has latching means engageable with the outside of the rim of the container when fitted in the inverted position.

In one embodiment, the container is of circular cross-section and the lid is of inverted dome shape so as to form an ingredient cavity on the outside of the lid when attached to the container mouth in its normal position.

Preferably, the container and lid are formed as thin walled seamless products from sheet plastics material and they are arranged so as to be separately stackable, for storage and transportation purposes, prior to the lids being fitted to the containers For this purpose, the containers may comprise sidewalls extending upwardly and generally outwardly from the bottom walls of the containers to the mouths at the top of the containers So as to reduce the risk of a stack of the containers being compacted and the containers wedging together, the side walls of the containers may be formed with external and internal stacking shoulders such that when the containers are stacked the external stacking shoulder of an upper or inner cup of the stack rests on the internal stacking shoulder of the next lower or outer cup of the stack in order to resist full insertion of the upper cup into the lower cup.

The present invention also consists in a lid constructed to serve as an ingredient compartment and arranged to be attached to the mouth of a container in both a normal and an inverted position so as to close the container mouth in either position.

3 In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a side view of a drinking cup and lid according to the invention in which the cup is shown in axial section; Figure 2 a is a perspective view showing the lid removed from the cup; Figure 2 b is a plan view of the lid of Figure 2 a; and Figure 3 is a side elevation of the cup with the lid in its inverted position.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the container is a disposable drinking cup 20 and is a thin walled seamless product thermoformed from sheet plastics material It is of circular shape in plan and comprises a bottom wall 11 and a sidewall 10 extending upwardly and generally outwardly from the bottom wall 11 to a mouth 12 at its top The mouth 12 is surrounded by a rim flange 13 projecting outwardly from the sidewall 10 of the cup 20 and below the rim flange 13, the sidewall 10 is formed on its outside with a zone of hollow axial ribs 14 which serve to strengthen the sidewall 10 and as a gripping area where the cup 20 may be gripped by the fingers of a user.

The lid 30 is similarly thermoformed as a thin walled seamless product from sheet plastics material and is of inverted dome shape whereby to provide an ingredient cavity 31 which is in the outside of the lid 30 when this is fitted in its normal position to the mouth 12 of the cup, as shown in Figure 1 The lid is moulded adjacent its upper edge with an outwardly projecting shoulder 32 which respectively forms outer and inner annular sealing surfaces for cooperation with the rim flange 13 of the cup 20 On its outside surface 33 below the annular shoulder 32, the lid 30 is moulded at equally spaced positions about its periphery with hollow outwardly projecting protuberances 34 The skirt 35 of the lid 30 projecting upwardly from the annular shoulder 32 is moulded on its outside surface with a series of small axial hollow ribs 39 which terminate at a position spaced above the annular shoulder 32 and serve to strengthen the skirt 35.

4 The lids 30 and cups 20 may be stacked separately prior to use and to avoid the cups wedging together in stacked relation, each cup 20 has an internal stacking shoulder (not shown) formed by a downwardly facing annular shoulder moulded about the sidewall of the cup at a position spaced above the bottom wall 11, and the peripheral edge of the bottom wall 11 serves as an external stacking shoulder 36 which engages with the internal stacking shoulder of an outer cup with which it is nested so as to resist insertion of the upper cup into the lower cup.

The cavity 31 in the lid 30 is filled with an ingredient, for example, suitable for preparing a drink and is sealed within the cavity 31 with aluminium foil (not shown) heat sealed to the upper edge of the skirt 35 The lid 30 is then fitted to the cup mouth 12 in order to close the cup 20 (see Figure 1), the protuberances 34 being an interference fit with the inside surface of the cup adjacent its mouth 12 so that the lid 30 is retained in a closed position In this, the normal closure position of the lid 30, the external sealing surface formed by the annular shoulder 32 seats against the top of the rim flange 13 so as to provide an effective seal between the lid 30 and the cup 20 When it is desired to make a drink with the ingredients, the lid 30 is removed from the cup 20 (Figures 2 a and 2 b), the aluminium foil seal is separated from the lid and the ingredients in the cavity 31 are poured into the cup 20 for mixing with a liquid added to the cup The lid 30 may then be inverted and refitted to the mouth 12 of the cup (Figure 3), whereupon the cup 20 may be shaken to mix the contents In its inverted position on the cup 20, the inside of the skirt above the small ribs 39 is an interference fit with the periphery of the rim flange 13 and the inner annular sealing surface formed by the annular shoulder 32 seats on the top of the rim flange 13 so that the lid 30 is effectively sealed to the cup 20.

Whilst a particular embodiment has been described, it will be understood that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention For example, the lid may be attachable to other types of containers and other types of products may be prepared in the container with the ingredients from the ingredient compartment.

Claims

1 A container having a mouth and a lid closing the container mouth and having a cavity in the outside of the lid top for containing at least one ingredient, the lid being invertable on the mouth of the container and being attachable to the container in its inverted position so as also to close the container mouth in this position.

2 A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lid contains at least one ingredient and the open side of the cavity is sealed with aluminum foil so as to maintain and preserve the ingredient(s) in the cavity.

3 A container as claimed in any claim 1 or 2, wherein the lid is adapted to seal the mouth of the container in both the normal and inverted positions of the lid.

4 A container as claimed in claim 3, wherein the lid is formed with two endless sealing surfaces which respectively engage with a rim about the container mouth in the normal and inverted positions of the lid so as to seal the container mouth.

5 A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the lid is an interference fit with the inside of the container, at or adjacent the container mouth, when fitted to the container in its normal position.

6 A container as claimed in any preceding claim, including latching means engageable with the outside of the rim of the container when fitted in the inverted position.

7 A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the container is of circular cross-section and the lid is of inverted dome shape so as to form 6 the ingredient cavity on the outside of the lid when attached to the container mouth in its normal position.

8 A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the lid is constructed so as to be stackable with identical lids for storage and transportation prior to the lid being fitted to the container.

9 A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the container is constructed so as to be stackable with identical containers for storage and 1 o transportation prior to the lids being fitted to the containers.

A container as claimed in claim 9, including sidewalls extending upwardly and generally outwardly from the bottom wall to the mouth at the top of the container, the sidewalls of the container being formed with external and Is internal stacking shoulders such that when the container is stacked with the identical containers the external stacking shoulder of an upper or inner cup of the stack rests on the internal stacking shoulder of the next lower or outer cup of the stack in order to resist full insertion of the upper cup into the lower cup.

11 A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the container is formed as a thin walled seamless product from sheet plastic materials.

12 A lid having a cavity in one side and constructed to serve as an ingredient compartment and adapted to be attached to the mouth of a container for food or other products in both a normal and an inverted position so as to close the container mouth in either position.

13 A container constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14 A lid constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.