ES2429126T3 - Support for glasses - Google Patents

Abstract

Cup holder (1) made of molded fiber and comprising: - at least two housing (2) for glasses, the housing comprises a bottom wall to support the bottom of the glasses and several retention parts that extend into the housing so that , in use, exert an elastic force on an inserted vessel to hold it in place; - a circumferential wall (10) that surrounds and connects said housings; - channel-shaped parts (8); - a central dome-shaped part (30), which extends between said housings; characterized in that each channel-shaped part (8) has a pair of opposite walls, continuous, internally inclined and extending downwards (11, 11 '), which extend at least 12 mm downwards and are connected to a part of bottom wall (12) with a width of at least 5 mm and a length of at least 10 mm, connecting one of said parts in the form of a channel two nearby housings and extending to the interior and along the circumferential wall, and why the part dome-shaped center (30) ends in the channel-shaped parts transversely with respect to said dome-shaped part, and said vessel support has a weight of less than 7 gr per housing at almost 0% moisture content .

Description

Support for glasses

The present invention relates to a support for vessels

Such cup holders are already disclosed in WO-2006/065132, EP-1,489,015 and US

5 6,076,876, in general. US-5,713,619 describes a support according to the preamble of the attached claim 1. It was suggested to make these supports of molded fiber material, but also of plastic material. These supports have cavities or housings to receive and retain glasses, for example, glasses for drinks or glasses of ice cream or milkshake or hot and cold drinks. These stands are mostly disposable and often used in fast food restaurants and in neighborhood stores.

10 These cup holders must be rigid, disposable and easy to stack. In addition, its production must be easy and cheap.

Known supports can be improved.

Summary of the Invention

The object of the invention is to improve the known supports.

According to the invention, this is done with a support for vessels comprising at least two vessel housings and a circumferential wall that surrounds and connects said housings, wherein said support is made of molded fiber, according to the claim. one.

It was found that this allows a support for vessels with a reduced and light weight support surface, for example, for a two-vessel support or a four-vessel support. And despite the reduced support surface and

20 of the light weight, still passes user tests, such as the lift test.

In one embodiment, the cup holder has a weight of less than 5.5 grams per housing at almost 0% moisture content.

In one embodiment, the walls that extend down the channel-shaped part extend at least 20 mm down.

In one embodiment, the channel-shaped part has a length of more than 30 mm.

In one embodiment, said channel-shaped part connects said housings longitudinally.

In one embodiment, said retaining parts are provided in positions of the circumference of the housings and shaped to provide a substantially round curved inclined edge in said housing.

In one embodiment, the housings have retention parts that extend into the housings and are

30 provided with a T-shaped cut and an open space at the bottom of the housing to provide lips in order to exert a force on a vessel inserted to retain it in the housing, said retention parts having a wall part that provides a curved edge or guide and leaning towards the housing.

The support for glasses has a weight of less than 7 grams per accommodation at almost 0% moisture content, while providing strength and stiffness to pass the lift test. Thus, for a support 35 of two glasses, the total weight would be less than approximately 2 × 7gr = 14 grams, being able to still pass the tests used. For a support of four glasses, the total weight would therefore be less than 4 × 7gr = 28 grams. In this context, the determination of the weight at approximately 0% moisture content is carried out as follows, which will reduce the moisture content to almost 0%. First, the cup holder is placed in an oven, usually a hot air oven, and heated to approximately 150 degrees Celsius during

40 at least 30 minutes. Next, the cup holder is removed from the oven and weighed on a scale with an accuracy of 0.1 grams.

In fact, the possibility of making a support for vessels with a weight of less than approximately 6.5 g per glass was demonstrated. The weight could even be reduced even more in the case of a support for four glasses, up to approximately 5.5 grams per housing, thus providing a support for vessels of less than 22

45 gr at almost 0% moisture content.

In this sense, the lift test is internationally recognized in this field and is defined as follows. SUBSTANCE TEST This test is carried out on the support for 4 glasses of drink to ensure that it is strong enough to hold four (4) full 0.5 liter glasses (total load weight: 2 , 4 kg)

Frequency of the test: Minimum once every 24 hours. Test equipment: Four 0.5 liter glasses with inserts, each weighing 600 grams and the weight of the total load It is 2.4 kg.

Test method:

10 1. Obtain a support sample of 4 glasses from the production line and place it on the table.

2.

 Firmly place four 0.5 liter cups with insert in the support cavities.

3.

 Hold the 4-cup holder loaded by the side support arm.

4. Lift the 4-wheel stand loaded and keep it stable in a horizontal position for 30 seconds. The test sample fails if the support is folded within 30 seconds. 15 ANGLE TEST This test is carried out on the support for 4 glasses of drink in order to ensure that the specific size of the glasses of cold drink remains stable on the support of four glasses when passing from a window to a seated occupant in a car. It has been determined that the angle of passage is 30 degrees with respect to the horizontal.

20 Test frequency: Minimum once every 24 hours. Test equipment:

one.

Angular test board with 30 degree angle and a flange with a height of about 2 cm.

2.

 Two 0.25 liter glasses with insert, each weighing 300 grams +/- 5g.

3. Two 0.5 liter glasses with insert, each weighing 600 grams +/- 5g. 25 Test method:

one.

 Obtain a 4-cup support sample from the production line and place it on the table near the angular test board.

2.

 Firmly place the vessels with insert in the support cavities with similar sizes located diagonally.

30 3. Place the loaded support on the angular test board, against the flange.

4. Raise the splint to a 30 degree mark. Hold the loaded stand in the elevated position for 5 seconds and observe the safety of the vessels.

The test sample fails:

1. If a glass or several glasses fall out of your cavity.

35 2. If any of the upper vessels moves enough to touch a lower one.

In one embodiment, the housing comprises a bottom wall to support the bottom of the vessels. In particular, the housings, also known as cavities, comprise several retention parts that extend in the housings so that in use they exert an elastic force on a vessel inserted to hold it in place, said retention parts being provided in positions of the circumference of the housings and shaped to provide a substantially round curved inclined edge in said housing. An advantage of said curved edge or guide or insert in said housing is that the vessels are held better. In addition, it is easier to place vessels with different sizes, particularly in cross-section near the bottom, in the cavities or

5 accommodations In a particular embodiment, the housings have retention parts provided with a T-shaped cut and have an open space between the bottom of a housing and a bottom wall of a housing. Thus, lips are provided that provide an elastic force on an inserted vessel to retain it in the housing.

The vessel holder comprises at least one channel-shaped part that has two opposite walls,

10 internally inclined and extending downwards, at least 12 mm downwards, and which are connected to a lower wall part having a width of at least 5 mm and a length of at least 10 mm. It was found that said channel-shaped part increases the strength and stiffness of the vessel support. In a support for four vessels, said channel-shaped part connects two nearby housings and has an internally inclined wall that extends downwardly connected to the circumferential wall. In fact, said channel-shaped part

15 has walls that extend down, at least 20 mm down. In one embodiment, said pair of opposite walls, continuous, internally inclined and extending downward, extend approximately 12 to 25 mm downwards. In another or more embodiments, said lower wall portion has a width of about 5 to 10 mm. To connect housings in a grooved mode, the channel-shaped parts may have a length of more than 30 mm. Therefore, it was found that a channel-shaped part provides

20 a very ribbed cup holder, and allows the glasses to be placed very close to each other. For a two-vessel holder, a channel-shaped part is provided to connect its two housings. On the other hand, smaller channel-shaped parts are provided in the inner circumference of the circumferential wall connecting the housings. Therefore, more rigidity is provided, which allows for additional weight reduction in the design. It was also found that the provision of straight walls as large as possible

25 provides more stiffness, hardness and strength than the stepped wall that was the commonly accepted design choice.

In one embodiment, between two housings, said circumferential wall comprises a widened part.

The circumferential flange with the enlarged parts provides central grip parts on the sides that provide an improved grip. On the other hand, this grip part provides additional rigidity to the support

30 for glasses, which turns out to be an important feature of the product. The gripping part does not influence the stacking capacity of the support. In addition, it provides a space to add a logo or trademark. The logo or trademark can be embossed.

In one embodiment, notches are provided near each corner. These notches can extend to the same height as the circumferential wall. Between a notch and the circumferential wall, a

35 channel-shaped connection part. In fact, the notches can be provided in the form of parts that extend upwardly from retention parts that extend into the housings and which have been described above.

The support has to be attractive to a consumer. In one embodiment, this is produced using a rotor mold with suction cups that pass through a pulp bath. In particular, in one embodiment, production was carried out in a so-called three-rotor apparatus and proved capable of producing beneficial products. In this method, a mixture of fiber pulp was produced. Next, using aspiration rotors, a layer of wet fiber material was collected in a chainmail material of the aspiration rotors. This layer was transferred to a second mold or pressing mold in a second rotor, causing a prepress of the wet molded layer. Subsequently, the molded layer was transferred to a third mold. After this, the layer

The molded was transferred to an oven and dried in that oven. In particular, it was found that wet pressing resulted in an increase in resistance. This allowed a lighter product with a smoother surface.

It was found that the prepress stage provided much more rigidity to the molded fiber product. Thus, the same resistance could be achieved at a lower weight. The current supports are smoother. In particular, they show greater smoothness in the back. Therefore, they are unstacked or separated better. The supports of the present

The invention allows for better stacking. For example, 7,200 supports of the present invention can be stacked in Europales up to a total height of 2.5 m. Before, 6,300 supports could be applied in a Europalé up to a height of 2.5 m.

In addition, cup holders only need to weigh approximately 26-29 grams to achieve the required stiffness and strength. That used to be between 30 and 35 grams. The current design reduces weight. For other

In part, the production method also allows a reduction in weight.

In one embodiment, a through hole is provided in the center of the support. This allows faster unstacking of the cup holders and saves weight. A user can reach the support through this hole with a finger and can therefore unstack a support from a stack of supports when necessary. This takes less time. For example, in a fast food restaurant, every second counts. If an employee can earn a second by more easily unstacking the cup holder, this would save hundreds of seconds daily. In the case of a fast food chain that has hundreds of restaurants, hundreds of hours of effort / work would be saved each year and money could be saved.

Support embodiments are provided in the dependent claims and in the description of the accompanying drawings. The advantages of these embodiments are also mentioned in the description of the drawings.

In an embodiment in which said vessel support has a circumferential wall with a widened portion, said circumferential wall has a width of approximately 0.5 to 1.0 cm, and said widened portion has a width of approximately 1.5 and 2.5 cm.

In one embodiment, said widened portion widens downward on a circumferential edge of the circumferential wall.

In one embodiment, said widened portion widens upwardly on a support flange.

In one embodiment, said circumferential wall tilts into the support.

In one embodiment, said widened part tilts at a smaller angle than the rest of the circumferential wall.

In one embodiment, the lower edge of the circumferential wall that includes said widened part is in a horizontal plane.

In one embodiment, the upper part of the circumferential wall that includes said widened part is in a horizontal plane. In one embodiment thereof, the lower edge of the circumferential wall that includes said widened part is in a horizontal plane and the upper part of the circumferential wall that includes said widened part is in a horizontal plane, providing the upper part of the wall circumferential an undulation in the horizontal plane of the upper part.

In one embodiment, said circumferential wall comprises an end flange extending outwardly from said support.

In one embodiment, said support is substantially square and said circumferential wall has four substantially identical sides.

In one embodiment, said support has a rotation symmetry for rotations greater than 90 degrees with respect to an axis of rotation perpendicular to the plane of said housings and through the center of said support.

In one embodiment, said support is produced in a molded fiber process comprising a prepressing step of a wet molded fiber layer.

In one embodiment, wherein said support for vessels is made of molded fiber and has a weight of less than 7 grams per housing at almost 0% moisture content while providing sufficient strength and stiffness to pass the test of lift, this has a weight for a support for vessels that has two housings of less than about 14 grams, being able to pass the lift test at the same time.

In one embodiment, a weight for a vessel holder having four housings is less than 26 gr., In a particular embodiment, it has a weight of less than about 22 gr at almost 0% moisture content.

In an embodiment of the cup holder with a substantially round curved inclined edge in said housing, the housing has retaining parts that extend into the housings and are provided with a T-shaped cut and have an open space at the bottom of the housing to provide lips in order to exert a force on an inserted vessel to retain it in the housing, said retaining parts having a wall part that provides said inclined curved edge or guide.

In an embodiment of the support for vessels with at least one channel-shaped part, the walls that extend downwards extend at least 20 mm downwards.

In one embodiment thereof, the channel-shaped parts have a length of more than 30 mm.

The invention further relates to a method comprising one or more of the characteristic features described in this description and / or shown in the accompanying drawings.

The different aspects discussed in this patent can be combined in order to provide additional advantages. In fact, the characteristics mentioned in relation to one aspect of the invention are also combined with other aspects of the invention.

Description of the drawings

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment of a vessel holder shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

10 Figures 1 to 3 are a perspective view, a top view and a side view of another vessel holder;

Detailed description of the achievements

In the description of the embodiments, the same reference numbers refer to the same, or functionally the same, characteristics or functionally similar characteristics.

In Figures 1 to 3, an embodiment of a support for vessels 1 is shown, respectively showing a view

15 in perspective, a top view and a side view. This vessel holder 1 is a four vessel holder and again has a circumferential wall 10 that surrounds four housings 2. The cavities 2 have a bottom wall 4 to firmly hold vessels. In this embodiment, the circumferential wall is slightly curved to widen slightly in order to further increase the resistance. This embodiment again comprises the channel-shaped parts 8 having a pair of opposite walls 11, 11 'connected by a lower wall 12. In this

20, the widths of the slightly inclined side walls 11, 11 'of the channel-shaped parts 8 measure approximately between 12 and 25 mm. In this embodiment, the bottom wall 12 has a width of about 5 to 10 mm. In particular, in this embodiment the channel-shaped part has a bottom wall 12 with a width of approximately 6.1 mm and a height of approximately 15 mm. Its length is about 5 cm. In the embodiments shown, the open channel-shaped portions 8 open substantially in the

25 same direction as the housings 2. In addition, in this embodiment the inner surface of the lower wall 12 is substantially or almost flat, as far as possible in molded fiber technology.

The channel-shaped part 8, in particular the channel-shaped parts 8 nearby and / or located within the circumferential wall 10, are rigidly provided in the vessel holder 1. Thus, the parts in the form of channel 8 line up with the circumferential wall 10. In fact, tests showed that the shaped part of

30 channel allows a reduction of material and therefore weight, still allowing a design that passes the lift test. In this embodiment, the central part 30 has a dome shape to provide additional strength. In addition, the specific shape also allows an aesthetic design.

In the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, the clamping means 20 only has openings 31 at its lower ends. Therefore, the clamping parts 20 have sufficient flexibility in a direction transverse to the housing 2 in order

35 to allow them to hold a cup or glass thus allowing bending in the outward direction and exerting a force of pressure on a glass or an inserted cup. It was found that in this design the T-slots were no longer required. The absence of the T-slots also provided additional resistance to the support for vessels 1. Once again, the clamping parts 20 have a curved wall part 15. This design allows a support for glasses that meets all the requirements outlined above and that weighs approximately between 22 and 23 gr.

40 A three-rotor method is used in production. In this method, a wet fiber layer is first produced in an aspiration rotor. This layer is then transferred to a second molding rotor, also called the pressing rotor. This transfer provides an additional prepress that was found to provide additional resistance. This allowed a reduction of material and weight. On the other hand, it provides a smoother product, in particular, a smoother back, that is, the side without chainmail or the

45 side without wire netting. All this allows stacking more supports 1 at a unit height. In this method, through an additional rotor stage, the products are transferred to a drying oven in which the supports are dried to a moisture content of approximately 5% by weight or less. In a conventional two-rotor process, a distance between the suction mold and a transfer mold will be approximately 2.5 to 3 mm. In the process of three rotors, it can be reduced to between 1 and 1.5 mm. This allows the fibers in the

50 pasta line up better. It was found that this increases the strength of the molded fiber material.

In another embodiment, a molded fiber method is used in which the wet fiber layer is transferred to a hot mold on which a high pressure is applied to the fiber layer. At this stage of production, the support or supports are dried to a moisture content of approximately 5% by weight or less. This provides an even smoother product with a thinner wall.

5 With the use of the described processes, it may be possible to produce several connected supports each time. Subsequently, these can be cut into individual supports.

It will also be apparent that the description and drawings above are included to illustrate some embodiments of the invention, and not to limit the scope of protection. From this description, many more embodiments will be apparent to an expert person, provided they are within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (14)

1. Cup holder (1) made of molded fiber and comprising:

-

 at least two housings (2) for glasses, the housings comprise a bottom wall to support the bottom

of the vessels and various retention parts that extend into the housings so that, in use, they exert an elastic force on an inserted vessel to retain it in place;

-

 a circumferential wall (10) that surrounds and connects said housings;

-

 channel-shaped parts (8);

-

 a central dome-shaped part (30), which extends between said housings;

characterized in that each channel-shaped part (8) has a pair of opposite walls, continuous, internally 10 inclined and extending downwards (11, 11 '), which extend at least 12 mm downwards and connect to a lower wall portion (12) with a width of at least 5 mm and a length of at least 10 mm, each of said channel-shaped parts connecting two nearby housings and extending to the interior and along the circumferential wall, and by which the central dome-shaped part (30) ends at the channel-shaped parts of transverse manner with respect to said dome-shaped part, and said vessel support has a weight of 15 less than 7 gr per accommodation at almost 0% moisture content. 2. Cup holder (1) according to claim 1, having a weight of less than 5.5 gr per housing (2) at almost 0% moisture content. 3. Support (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said circumferential wall (10) is inclined towards the inside of the support. 4. Support (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said circumferential wall (10) comprises an end flange that extends outwardly from said support. 5. Support (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said support is substantially square, said circumferential wall having four substantially identical sides.

6.

 Support (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said support has four housings (2).

7. Support (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said support has a rotation symmetry for rotations greater than 90 degrees with respect to an axis of rotation perpendicular to the plane of said housings and through the center of said support.

8.

 Support (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said support is produced in a molded fiber process comprising a prepressing step of a wet molded fiber layer.

9. Support (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said pair of opposite walls, continuous, internally inclined and extending downward, extend down approximately between 12 and 25 mm. 10. Support (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said lower wall portion (12) has a width of about 5 to 10 mm. 11. Cup holder (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said channel-shaped part has a pair of opposite walls, continuous, internally inclined and extending downwardly, extend downward at least 15 mm and are connected to a lower wall part with a width of at least 7 mm and a length of at least 10 mm, said channel-shaped parts connecting two housings 40 nearby.

12.

 Cup holder (1) according to claim 11, wherein the walls extending downwards extend at least 20 mm downwards.

13.

 Cup holder (1) according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the channel-shaped parts have a length of more than 30 mm.

14.

 Cup holder (1) according to claim 8, wherein the wet layer of fiber material is disposed in suction molds, said wet layer of fiber material is disposed in intermediate molds providing a pre-pressing step, said layer Pre-pressed fiber material is transferred to a drying oven in which the support is dried.

fifteen.

 Cup holder (1) according to claim 14, wherein the wet layer of fiber material is disposed in suction molds, said wet layer of fiber material is subsequently disposed in a hot mold in which said layer is press to a moisture content of less than about 5% by weight.