CA1294581C

CA1294581C - Heat treatment cup for a beverage container

Info

Publication number: CA1294581C
Application number: CA000556653A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Keith Barnwell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: LIFOAM OF CANADA Inc
Priority date: 1988-01-15
Filing date: 1988-01-15
Publication date: 1992-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 2009-01-21

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention provides a cup within a cup insert for use in an insulated beverage container temperature influencing receptacle. The cup within a cup insert comprises a first cup with an upper end flange telescopically fitted within a second cup with an upper end flange. The first cup has a smaller diameter than that of the second cup therefore defining a hollow insert sidewall containing a temperature conditionable liquid trapped in the hollow sidewall by a sealed contact between the flanges on the two cups.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

1 The present invention relates to a cup or cup like receptacle for receiving and heat treating, either by way of heating or cooling, a beverage container such as a can or bottle of beer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

To date, there is very little available in the way of bottle or can insulating jackets. One product that is available in the market place is in the form of a styrofoam cup which can be slid over the bottom of a can or bottle. However, this cup has no direct heating or cooling effect on the beverage in the can or bottle and provides an insulating effect only.

Very recently a new refrigeratable beveIage container holder has been introduced to the market place.
This particular product includes a interior refrigeratable liquid for providing a cooling effect on a container, typically a beer can, fitted in the holder Descriptions of this product as well as methods of manufacturing of the product are found in United States Patents 4,163,374, 4,183,226, 4,299,100 and 4,378,625 all owned by Freezesleeves of America Inc.

The above patents describe a number of different holder designs. However, each of these designs is based on the standard styrofoam cup as earlier described with 5~1 àJ-6972C-87 - 2 - 5489A/û067A

1 the dead air space between the styrofoam cup and the beer can being filled by refrigerant or a refrigerant lining physically engaging the beer can. In use, it has been found that if the refrigerant is truly effective it cannot touch the beer can in as much as this may result in freezing of the can contents.

Another difficulty found in the Freezesleeve design where, as shown for example in Figure 4 of United States Patent 4,163,374, the refrigerant is simply trapped between an inner lining and the styrofoam cup is to provide a seal which will not allow leakage of the refrigerant. According to United States Patent 4,163,374 this is achieved by physically embedding a part of the lining into the styrofoam cup. However, again it has been found that in use this type of sealing is not entirely effective because of the weakness of the styrofoam which tends to crack and break resulting in the refrigerant leaking between the lining and the cup.

United States patent 4,1&3,226 shows in Figures 2 and 3 two other embodiments of the Freezesleeve's holder.
Each of these embodiments comprises a totally independent refrigerant lining again designed to circumferentially engage the beer can. Although these two linings do not suffer from the same leakage problem described above, they are difficult and expensive to manufacture and do not present any surface for positive engagement with the outer styrofoam cup.
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1 In my co-pending Canadian Patent Application S.N. 528,703, I describe an improvement over the Freezesleeve's designs. This improvement is in the form of a heat treatment receptacle having an outer insulating cover and a totally sealed plastic formed gel containing insert which is completed sealed on its own to prevent leakage of the gel. However, this insert like the lining described in United States Patent 4,183,226 is relatively expensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention provides an insert for a heat treatment receptacle and in particular a beer can cooler. The insert itself consists of inner and outer cup-like members each of which comprises an open topped closed bottom generally cylindrical body with an outwardly exending upper end flange around the open mouth of each cylindrical body. The two cup-like members are telescopically inter-fitted with one another with the body on the inner cup-like member being of a reduced diameter to that of the outer cup-like member thereby defining a hollow sidewall of the insert. A temperature conditionable liquid, preferably in the form of a dense freezer gel, is trapped in the hollow sidewall by a sealed flange to flange contact between the cup-like members.

This cup within a cup construction makes for a very simple yet efficient assembly of the insert.
Furthermore and to be described later in detail, the insert itself is well designed to fit with its outer ~Z5~ 31 l insulating cover in forming the receptacle and to further enable an efficient manner of loading the liquid, again preferably as a dense gel, within the insert.

BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THE DRA~INGS
_ The above, as well as other advantages and features of the present invention, will be described in greater detail according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention in which:

Figure l is a perspective view looking down on a heat treatment receptacle in which a beverage can is fitted according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a sectional view through the can and receptacle of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the receptacle of Figure l.
Figure 4 is a sectional view of the insert from Figure 3 when assembled.
Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the ring from the receptacle of Figure 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION ACCORDING TO THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESTENT INVENTION

Figure l shows a heat treatment receptacle and in particular a cooler generally indicated at 21 for receiving a beverage container. Although the drawings show a beverage can, it is to be appreciated that a oottle or even a glass may also be used with the receptacle of the present invention.

~'~5~ 31 1 Receptacle 21 comprises an outer insulating cover 23 and an insert 25 fitted within the insulating cover.
Figure 4 shows details of the insert and Figure 5 shows details of the ring defining the mouth of the receptacle.

The insert itself, as again best seen in Figure 4, is formed by a pair of hard plastic cup-like members 27 and 31 with member 31 being telescopically fitted within member 27~ Each of these cup-like members comprises a main cylindrical body with a closed bottom as indicated at 28 on cup-like member 27 and at 32 on cup-like member 31.
Further, each of the cup-like members is provided with outwardly extending lips or flanges as indicated at 29 and 33 on cups 27 and 31 respectively.

Receptacle 21 and in particular insert 25 has been designed for efficiency of manufacturing and structural integrity of the receptacle. This is achieved through the cup within a cup formation of the insert. As can be well seen in Figure 4, the cylindrical body on cup 27 is larger in diameter than that of the body of cup 31 providing a hollow sidewall in the insert. This hollow sidewall is of consistant gapping completely around the insert due to the provision of centering means to center cup 31 within cup 27. This centering means is in the form of series of small outwardly extending centering fins 34 provided around the upper end of inner cup 31 and inwardly extending centering fins 30 provided around the lower end of cup 27. Therefore, when the two cups are interfitted 3û with one another, centering fins 34 on cup 31 abut the interior sidewall of cup 27 while centering fins 30 on cup ~l.2~ 3~

1 27 abut the exterior wall on cup 31 around the insert to ensure proper centering of the two cups and as mentioned above a uniformed gap in the sidewall around the insert.

When the insert is fully assembled as shown in Figure 4, the bottom wall 32 of cup 31 sits atop the bottom wall 28 of cup 27. Also because the two cups are of are essentially identical height, lip or flange 33 of cup 31 sits flushly atop and is sealed to lip or flange 29 of cup 27. Also note that outwardly projecting lip 33 is longer than lip 29 so that the two lips or flanges terminate at the same outer edge although lip 33 is actually longer than lip 29 to span the hollow side wall across the insert.

The actual loading of the gel into the cup-like insert is achieved in the following manner, the gel is initially loaded directly into cup 27 following which cup 31 is then located in position. The gel itself is quite dense with very little flow characteristic necessitating not only a pushing together of the two cups but also a spinning of one cup relative to the other to displace the gel from the bottom of cup 27 up into the gap in the insert sidewall. In particular, cup 27 is rotated relative to cup 33 with the small fins 30 in the bottom of cup 27 acting in an impellor-like fashion to agitate the gel and cause it to move upwardly along the outside of cup 31 which is slowly being forced down into the rotating cup 27. Therefore, fins 30 not only provide a centering means 3û at the bottom of the two cup-like members but in addition provide a means for proper dispersing of the gel during ~ ~3~5~3~

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1 assembly of the insert itself.

After the gel is loaded, the bottom of cup }1 pushes down onto the bottom of cup 27 generally free of gel between the bottom walls of the two cups.
Accordingly, there is very little, if any, gel at the bottom of the insert where the can sits directly on the inner cup bottom wall 32.

Figure 4 shows the two cup-like members after loading the insert with gel and just prior to sealing the two cup-like members to one another. The gel after loading is prevented from escaping upwardly out of the insert by sonically welding lips 29 and 33 of the two cup-like members to one another. To assure a complete weld around the insert, lip 33 is provided with a continuous downwardly extending meltable plastic bead ~6 while lip 29 is provided with a continuous upwardly extending similar bead 28. During the sonic welding these two beads melt to seal the lips to one another. The reason for providing two beads inwardly and outwardly surrounding one another and extending in opposite directions is that, should one of the beads not properly seal at any point around its periphery, the other bead provides a second seal to cover any possible gaps and prevent leakage of the gel from the cup.

Another feature provided by the cup in a cup insert construction is that it again simplifies the 3û construction of the outer insulating cover which is nothing more than a hollow cylindrical sleeve of 1 relatively stretchy foam material. The bottom of the receptacle is provided by the bottom wall of the insert itself rather than the insulating cover. The insert being formed by a relatively hard plastic and having the double thickness of bottom walls 32 and 28 is much more durable and resistant to damage than for example a STYROFOAM
bottom as found in the prior art. In addition, by making the bottom of the insert the bottom of the receptacle, this allows the molding of a hard plastic sweat bead 36 at the extreme lower end of the receptacle. This sweat bead eliminates a full contact of bottom wall 28 with any supporting surface on which the receptacle is placed providing a condensation guard to prevent both moisture marklng of and sticking to the supporting surface.

According to a preferred construction, the outer insulating cover is preferably made from a closed cell soft foam material. The softness of the foam not only allows its stretching but also provides a positive hand hold on the receptacle.

As described above, both the cover and the insert are replaceable independently of one another if required.
However, it should be noted that there is no need to remove the insert from the cover during the temperature conditioning as for example, placing the assembled structure in the refrigerator or freezer.

A further unique feature of the present invention is the gripping of the upper ring of the receptacle on to S~l 1 the container or beer can with no contact between the gel filled sidewall of the insert and the can. Such contact might otherwise result in freezing of the can contents.
Figure 2 specifically shows the receptacle as being provided with an upper ring 35 details of which are clearly seen in Figure 5 of the drawings.

Ring 35 comprises an outer sidewall 38 having an inwardly directed undercut portion 39, a top ring portion 40, and a series of inwardly directing gripping portions 37. The undercut portion 39 on the outer ring sidewall snap fits over the insert flange which extends slightly outwardly beyond the insulating cover 23 to provide an interlock surface between the undercut ring and the insert. Although there is also a slight grip of ring sidewall 38 on outer cover 23, this is not the force holding the outer in position over the insert. Rather, the cover remains in position due to its stretch fitting.

The top ring wall 40, which extends across the top of the gel filled insert, includes the reinforcing rib 41 just outwardly of the container or can grip portions 37 of the ring. These portions 37 are preformed with a slight downward bend as best seen in Figure 8 of the drawings for easing the tight fitting of the can down through the ring. However, the preset down bending of the ring portions 37 has the opposite effect when attempting to pull the can out of the ring and therefore provides a very tight grip on the can. In fact, tightness of this grip is such that there is essentially no movement of the ~;

1 lower end of the can which again might otherwise result in its coming into contact with the gel filled sidewalls of the insert.

Figure 5 shows another feature of the ring where it will be clearly seen that the gripper portions 37 are of decreasing material thickness from reinforcing rib 41 inwardly to their free inner ends. Again, this feature enables a slight downward bending of the inner end of the gripper portions for easing the can fitting through the ring with increased outward resistance to bending of the gripper portions. These gripper portions are further outwardly strengthened against bending at the reinforcing rib 41. This feature provides a centering of the can by the ring in the insert with the ring being resistant to collapsing which might otherwise allow the can to shift into contact with the gel packed wall of the insert.

As will be clearly seen from Figure 2, although gripper portions 37 do resist downward bending, they will, if pushed sufficiently hard, bend downwardly to a point overlapping the interior wall of the gel insert.
Therefore, in both the relaxed as well as fully down bent position, gripper portions 37 define the minimum interior diameter of the entire receptacle once again preventing can or container contact with the insert sidewall.

Although reference is made above to the gripper portions being bendable under force, they are still stiff enough to grip the container, again preferably a beer can, to the extent that if the can is lifted the entire 1 receptacle remains positively engaged with the can.
Furthermore, when not fitted with a can, the gripper portions project inwardly with a substantial overhang above the insert ensuring a large gap between the can and the insert. In its relaxed condition, the interior diameter of the ring, i.e. the gripper portions, is slightly less than the diameter of a standard beer can, while the interior diameter of the insert itself is substantially greater than that of a standard beer can.

Although various preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated that by those skilled in the art that variations may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A heat treatment receptacle for a beverage container, said receptacle comprising an outer insulating cover and an insert within said insulating cover, said insert being temperature settable for influencing the temperature of the beverage container and comprising inner and outer cup-like members each of which comprises a main body having a closed bottom and an upper end flange, the body on said inner cup being of reduced diameter to the body of said outer cup thereby defining a hollow sidewall in said insert, said hollow sidewall containing a temperature conditionable liquid trapped in said insert by sealing said flange on said inner cup to said flange on said outer cup.

2. A heat treatment receptacle as claimed in Claim 1, including a bottom to bottom contact between said inner and outer cup-like members.

3. A heat treatment receptacle as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said temperature conditionable liquid comprises a dense gel substantially filling said hollow sidewall of said insert.

4. A heat treatment receptale as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said flanges of said cup-like members sit immediately atop said outer insulating cover and extend slightly outwardly therebeyond, said receptacle further including a top plastic ring having an undercut portion snap fitted on said flange portions.

5. A heat treatment receptacle as claimed in Claim 4, wherein said top plastic ring includes inwardly directed gripping portions which when bent downwardly define the minimum interior diameter of said receptacle for preventing beverage container contact with said insert.

6. A heat treatment receptacle as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said gripper portions decrease inwardly in thickness and are bent slightly downwardly-inwardly, said ring being provided with a reinforcing rib running around said gripper portions.

7. A heat treatment receptacle as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said insulating cover comprises a hollow opened sleeve, said closed bottom of said outer cup-like member of said insert providing a bottom wall for said receptacle.

8. A cup within a cup refrigerant insert for use in a beverage container cooler, said insert comprising an inner cup and an outer cup, both of said cups having closed bottoms and upper end outwardly extending flanges, said inner cup being of reduced diameter to that of said outer cup and being telescopically fitted therein to define a hollow wall region, said hollow wall region containing a freezable gel trapped in said insert by a flange to flange seal contact between said inner and outer cups.

9. A cup within a cup refrigerant insert as claimed in Claim 8, including upper and lower sets of centering fins between said cups, said lower set of centering fins providing agitation means during assembly of said insert for moving the freezable gel up into said hollow sidewall region, said closed bottoms of said cups abutting one another to substantially eliminate the presence of said gel therebetween.

10. An insert as claimed in Claim 8, including a double-sonic weld between said flanges of said cups.

11. A receptacle as claimed in Claim 10, wherein said double-sonic weld is formed from a first bead on said inner cup and a second bead on said outer cup, said beads being radially spaced and facing in opposite directions relative to one another between said flanges of said cups.