AU2006230694A1

AU2006230694A1 - Disposable drinking cup

Info

Publication number: AU2006230694A1
Application number: AU2006230694A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Chih-Hsien Lo
Original assignee: President Packaging Industrial Corp
Current assignee: President Packaging Industrial Corp
Priority date: 2006-05-22
Filing date: 2006-10-19
Publication date: 2007-12-06
Anticipated expiration: 2026-10-19
Also published as: AU2006230694B2

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION NAME OF APPLICANT(S):: President Packaging Industrial Corp.

ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys 1 Nicholson Street, Melbourne, 3000, Australia INVENTION TITLE: Disposable drinking cup The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5102 -la- This invention relates to a disposable drinking cup, more particularly to a disposable drinking cup including a cup body and an insulating sleeve sleeved on the cup body.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional disposable drinking Scup 2 that includes a cup body 21 and an insulating sleeve c 22 sleeved on the cup body 21. The insulating sleeve 22 has IN a planar sheet 221 bonded to the cup body 21, and a structured Ci sheet 222 bonded to the planar sheet 221. The structured sheet 222 has a corrugated structure including rounded outward protrusions 2221 and rounded inward protrusions 2222 that are alternately disposed with the outward protrusions 2221. Each of the outward protrusions 2221 cooperates with the planar sheet 221 to define an air pocket 23 therebetween. The air pockets 23 thus formed in the disposable drinking cup 2 provide a thermal insulating effect. The conventional drinking cup 2 is disadvantageous in that, since the contact area between each of the rounded inward protrusions 2222 and the planar sheet 221 is relatively small, undesired peeling of the structured sheet 222 from the planar sheet 221 is likely to occur. Moreover, manufacturing of the disposable drinking cup 2 requires assembling the structured sheet 222 and the planar sheet 221 to form the insulating sleeve 22 first and then assembling the insulating sleeve 22 and the cup body 21, which result. in an increase in the manufacturing costs and time.

The object of the present invention is to provide a disposable drinking cup that can overcome the aforesaid 2

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drawback of the prior art.

o According to this invention, there is provided a disposable

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0 drinking cup that comprises: a cup body having a surrounding wall; and an insulating sleeve sleeved securely on the surrounding wall of the cup body and having a corrugated part Ohthat includes a plurality of protruding portions displaced Sangularly around the surrounding wall and spaced apart from IND each other. Each of the protruding portions extends outwardly Sand radially from the surrounding wall so as to define an air pocket therebetween. The air pocket is defined by a pocket-defining wall that has a cross-section which is substantially trapezoidal in shape. The corrugated part further includes a plurality of non-rounded flat connecting portions, cach of which extends between and separates two adjacent ones of the protruding portions apart, each of which is bonded to the surrounding wall, and each of which cooperates with the two adjacent ones of the protruding portions to define a recess thereamong.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional disposable drinking cup; Fig. 2 isa schematictopview ofthe conventionaldisposable dinking cup; Fig. 3 isanexplodedperspectiveviewofthefirstpreferred

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O embodiment of a disposable drinking cup according to this invention; O 0 Fig. 4 is a sectional side view of the first preferred embodiment; Fig. 5 is a sectional top view of the first preferred embodiment;

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Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the second IND preferred embodiment of the disposable drinking cup according Sto this invention; Fig. 7 is a sectional side view of the second preferred embodiment; and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the third preferred embodiment of the disposable drinking cup according to this invention.

Before the present invention is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying preferred embodiments, it should be noted herein that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.

Figs. 3 to 5 illustrate the first preferred embodiment of a disposable drinking cup according to this invention. The disposable drinking cup includes: a cup body 3 having a bottom wall 33 and a surrounding wall 32 extending from the bottom wall 33 and cooperating with the bottom wall 33 to define an inner space 34 therebetween; and an insulating sleeve 4 sleeved securely on the surrounding wall 32 of the cup body 3 and having a corrugated part 40 that includes a plurality of protruding portions 41 displaced angularly around the

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O surrounding wall 32 and spaced apart from each other. Each of the protruding portions 41 is tapered and extends outwardly 0 and radially from the surrounding wall 32 so as to define an air pocket 44 therebetween. The air pocket 44 is defined by a pocket-defining wall that has a cross-section 441 which is substantially trapezoidal in shape. The corrugated part M further includes a plurality of non-rounded flat connecting D portions 42, each of which extends between and separates two Sadjacent ones of the protruding portions 41 apart, each of which is bonded to the surrounding wall 32, and each of which cooperateswiththetwoadjacentonesoftheprotrudingportions 41 to define a recess 421 thereamong.

In this embodiment, the cross-section 441 of the pocket-defining wall has a cup side 4411 defined by the surrounding wall 32, and a distal side 4412 opposite to the cup side 4411 and having a length less than that of the cup side 4411 and greater than that of each of the non-rounded flat connecting portions 42. The cross-section 441 of the pocket-defining wall further has two opposing inclined sides 4413, each of which is straight, each of which interconnects the cup side 4411 and the distal side 4412, and each of which preferablyhas a lengthlessthanthat of each ofthenon-rounded flat connecting portions 42.

In this embodiment, the insulating sleeve 4 further has a non-corrugated end part 43 that extends from the corrugated part 40 and that is bonded to a bottom end portion of the surrounding wall 32. The surrounding wall 32 of the cup body

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C 3 has top and bottom ends 321, 322. Each of the protruding portions 41 has a top open end 411 that is disposed adjacent o to the top end 321 of the surrounding wall 32 and that is in fluid communication with the air pocket 44 defined by said each of the protruding portions 41, and a bottom closed end 412 that is disposed adjacent to the bottom end 322 of the Ssurrounding wall 32 and that seals a bottom side of the air IND pocket 44 defined by said each of the protruding portions 41.

Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate the second preferred embodiment of the disposable drinking cup according to this invention.

The second preferred embodiment differs from the previous embodiment in that the insulating sleeve 4 has solely the corrugated part 40 without the non-corrugated part 43) and that each of the protruding portions 41 has a bottom open end 412 that is disposed adjacent to the bottom end 322 of the surrounding wall 32 and that is in fluid communication with the air pocket 44 defined by said each of the protruding portions 41.

Fig. 8 illustrates the third preferred embodiment of the disposable drinking cup according to this invention. The third preferred embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that the insulating sleeve 4 is coated with a decorative film 45 having at least one indicia 451 printed thereon so as to enhance the appearance of the disposable drinking cup.

For the purpose of this specification, it will be clearly understood that the word "comprising" means "including but not limited to," and that the word "comprises" has a

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0 corresponding meaning.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication o is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms apart of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, Sunless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be IN understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

Claims

2. The disposable drinking cup of claim i, wherein said cross-section of said pocket-defining wall has a cup side defined by said surrounding wall, and a distal side opposite to said cup side and having a length less than that of said cup side and greater than that of each of said non-rounded flat connecting portions.
3. The disposable drinking cup of claim 2, wherein said cross-section of said pocket-defining wall further has two C opposing inclined sides, each of which is straight, each +of which interconnects said cup side and said distal side, o and each of which has a length less than that of each of said non-rounded flat connecting portions.
4. The disposable drinking cup of claim 1, wherein said surrounding wall of said cup body has top and bottom ends, each of said protruding portions having a top open end that IND is disposed adjacent to said top end of said surrounding wall and that is in fluid communicationwith saidairpocket defined by said each of said protruding portions, and a bottom closed end that is disposed adjacent to said bottom end of said surrounding wall and that seals a bottom side of said air pocket defined by said each of said protruding portions.
5. The disposable drinking cup of claim 1, wherein said surrounding wall of said cup body has top and bottom ends, each of said protruding portions having a top open end that is disposed adjacent to said top end of said surrounding wall and that is in fluid communication with said air pocket defined by said each of said protruding portions, and a bottom open end that is disposed adjacent to said bottom end of said surrounding wall and that is in fluid communication with said air pocket defined by said each of said protruding portions.
6. The disposable drinking cup of claim 1, wherein said insulating sleeve is coated with a decorative film having at least one indicia printed thereon. 9 O O 7. The disposable drinking cup substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 3 to 0
8.