GB2112760A

GB2112760A - Beverage dispenser

Info

Publication number: GB2112760A
Application number: GB08233507A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Henryk Dudzik
Original assignee: Cadbury Typhoo Ltd
Current assignee: Cadbury Schweppes Finance Ltd
Priority date: 1981-11-27
Filing date: 1982-11-24
Publication date: 1983-07-27
Also published as: GB2112760B

Abstract

The dispenser comprises a polypropylene body (10) having an integral handle (11), and a polyethylene lid (12) closing an open top of the body (10). The lid (12) has an outlet (21) closed by a removeable integral closure plate (23) and inner and outer ribs (30) and (28) which embrace the side wall (14) of the body (10). The outer rib (28) has a lip (29) which is a snap fit with an outer rib (16) on the side wall (14). The body (10) with handle (11) can be nested with other identical bodies to form a stack. A beverage-making ingredient eg a tea bag can be contained in each body of the stack. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Beverage dispensing This invention relates to a beverage dispenser and is more particularly, though not exclusively, concerned with a dispenser for hot drinks such as tea, coffee, hot chocolate etc.

it is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage dispenser which can be produced so economically that it can be used as a disposable or non-returnable item, and which, after filling with beverage, can be transported with a minimum risk of spillage.

According to the present invention, there is provided a beverage dispenser comprising an open-top hollow body in which a beverage is contained in use, the body being formed of a synthetic plastics material with an external, integral handle extending from a side wall of the body, the side wall of the body being provided an integral rib extending around the side wall adjacent the open top of the hollow body; and a synthetic plastics lid having (1) a beverage dispensing outlet, (2) an integrally formed pouring lip associated with the outlet, (3) an integrally formed openable closure means for the outlet, (4) an integrally formed outer rib, and (5) an integrally formed inner rib which is spaced from the outer rib so that the rim of the open top body can be accomodated therebetween, the arrangement being such that one of the ribs on the lid is a snap-fit with the rib on the body so that the lid can be firmly engaged with the body after the dispenser has been filled with beverage.

In the case where the dispenser is to be used for hot drinks, the body will be formed of a synthetic plastics material which is resistant to temperatures of at least 1 00or, for example polypropylene. In such a case, since the lid is not intended to be in continuous contact with the hot beverage, a cheaper synthetic plastics material such as polyethylene may be employed.

In a convenient embodiment, the rib associated with the body projects externally thereof and is engaged by the outer rib of the lid in use.

It is particularly preferred forth other rib to be a close fit with the surface of the side wall of the body opposite to that on which the rib on the body is provided.

The closure means is preferably provided with a tab which extends laterally of the beverage dispensing outlet and pouring lip. Conveniently, the tab is disposed within the depth of the lid (ie between the upper and lower surfaces thereof) and does not project peripherally outwardly from the lid.

Most convenintly, the handle is of upwardly opening channel section and is disposed wholly within the height of the hollow body.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an axial section through one embodiment of beverage dispenser according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of the beverage dispenser of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the dispenser of Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a sectional view showing a detail of the beverage dispenser of Figures 1 to 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the beverage dispenser illustrated therein is intended to be used as a teapot. The dispenser comprises a hollow body 10 with integral handle 11, and a lid 12. The body 10 is formed by an injection moulding process out of polypropylene, which is resistant to temperatures of at last 100"C. The body 10 is circular in plan view, is open topped, and has a base 13 and integral side wall 14. The side wall 14 extends upwardly and outwardly at an angle of 3 1/2" to the vertical away from the base 13 to a location which is spaced a short distance below the open top of the body 10. At this location, the side wall 14 continues vertically to define the rim 16 of the body 10. At the location where the side wall 14 starts to extend vertically, an integral rib 16 is provided.The rib 16 extends radially from the outer surface of the side wall 14 and serves not only as a means for retaining the lid 12 in position, as will be described hereinafter, but also serves to strengthen the upper part of the body 10 against unwanted deformation. The body 10 has a very thin wall section, in this embodiement 0.8 mm.

The handle 11 is also of relatively thin section (in this embodiment 1.3mm) but is nevertheless relatively rigid because ofthe material of construction thereof and because of the shape. The handle 11 is of generally square U-shaped cross-section opening upwardly, and is also bent longitudinally so that the base wall 17 of the handle 11 extends outwardly and downwardly from the side wall 14 and is curved so that the degree of curvature at the root of the handle 11 is relatively high before decreasing for the major portion of the length of the handle. Side walls 18 of the handle 11 extend substantially radially from the side wall 14 before curving downwardly. The side walls 18 converge inwardly towards the base wall 17.In addition, the side walls 18convergetowards one another from the top of the body 10 to the bottom, each side wall 18 being disposed at an angle of 3 1/2" to the vertical as viewed in Figure 3. The highest portion of each side wall 18 is at the level of the rim of the body 10 whilst the lowest portion of the handle 11 is at the level of the underside of the base 13. The body 10 is provided with an additional annular rib 19 which extends integrally from the underside of the base 13 to act as a spacer to prevent direct contact between the underside of the base 13 and a support surface.

It is to be appreciated from the above that a number of the above described bodies 10 with handles 11 can be readily stacked for transport and storage purposes by nesting the bodies and the handles together when the lids 12 are not in position.

A relatively high degree of nesting of the bodies and handles is permitted without risk of wedging. Thus, a large number of the bodies and handles can be transported and stored in a relatively small volume and the bodies can be easily separated in turn as required.

The lid 12 is formed by an injection moulding process from polyethylene and need not be as heat resistant as the body 10. The lid 12 comprises a downwardly opening dished central portion 19 presenting a planar upper surface upon which advertising and/or descriptive matter can be provided preferably by integrally moulding such matter as embossments (not shown) when the lid 12 is formed. The ceptral portion 19 is integrally joined to a surrounding generallyfrusto conical portion 20 which flares outwardly and downwardly at a shallow angle away from the central portion 19. The frusto conical portion 20 is provided with a dispensing outlet 21 therethrough and with an associated pouring lip 22.

In its as-moulded state, the lid 12 is provided with an integral closure plate 23 which is joined with the remainder of the lid 12 by a portion 24 of much reduced thickness so that the closure plate 23 can be completely removed by tearing it away from the remainder of the lid 12 to expose the outlet 21. To facilitate such tearing away of the closure plate 23, the latter is provided with an integral tab 25 which extends laterally of the outlet 21 and lip 22. The free end of the tab 25 has a rib 26 on its underside to facilitate manual grasping of the tab 25. The central portion 19 of the lid 12 is provided with a breather hole 27. At its outer periphery, the frusto conical portion 20 is provided with a downardly and outwardly extending integral outer annular rib 28 which terminates in an inwardly directed annular lip 29.

The outer rib 28 extends at an angle 100 to the vertical. Spaced inwardly of the outer rib 28 in an inner rib 30 having a vertically extending outer surface 31 which is a close fit againstthe inner surface of the vertically extending upper portion of the sidewall 14 of the body 10. The inner and outer ribs 28 and 30 define between them a recess 32 which receives the vertical upper end portion of the side wall 14. The length of the outer rib 28 is such that it is snap fit with the annular rib 16 on the body 10. Whilst the outer and inner ribs 30 and 28 are completely continuous annular ribs. The side walls 18 of the handle 11 are each relieved by a recess 33.

The recesses 33 accommodate the rib 28 and lip 29.

The rib 16 on the body 10 is not completely annular since it is not provided within the handle 11 between the side walls 18.

Because of the shape of the inner rib 30 and that of the upper portion of the side wall 14 of the body 110, and because the inner rib 30 has a diameter which is equal to the inner diameter of the side wall 14 at the rim 15, an effective seal is provided between the lid 12 and the body 10. The lid 12 is held in engagement with the body 10 because of the snap fit engagement between the outer rib 28 and the rib 16. Sealing is also enhanced because, when the lid 12 and the body 10 are fully interengaged, the rim 15 of the body 10 is urged against a corresponding annular surface 34 of the body 10 between ribs 28 and 30.

In use, the above described beverage dispenser is supplied to caterers or other establishments in a form in which a larger number of the bodies 10 with handles 11 are nested one inside the other, and the lids 12 are separately provided also in a condition in which they are nested together to a small extent.

However, such nesting of the lids 12 is not considered to be particularly important because of the relatively small depth thereof compared with the height of the bodies 10. However, in order to minimise the space occupied by the lids 12, the pouring lip 22 and the tab 25 terminate within the outer circumference of the lid 12 as defined by the outer rib 28. Furthermore, the lip 22 and the tab 25 are disposed wholly within the depth of the lid 12, ie that dimension between the upper and lower surfaces thereof as viewed in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings.

Because of the provision of the handles 11 in the form described above, there will always be a small space between the base 13 of each body and that of the body nested therein when the bodies are stacked. Thus, if desired, a stack of such hollow bodies may be provided with tea, coffee or other beverage making ingredients in loose or packaged form (eg.

tea bags) in the nested hollow bodies. The beverage dispenser can then be used by filling the hollow body with boiling water to the desired level and then snap-fitting the lid 12 thereon in the manner described above. The hole 27 prevents excessive positive or negative pressures from building up within the body 10 whilst being small enough to prevent spillage of the contents. At this stage, the outlet 21 is closed by the closure plate 23. A person who has purchased the beverage dispenser complete with beverage therein can transport it without risk of spillage and then remove the closure plate 23 in the manner described above prior to dispensing the beverage. Because it is very economical to produce, the beverage container may be disposed of after use.

The invention also resides in a stack comprising a multiplicity of nested hollow bodies with integral handles for use in conjunction with lids to form beverage dispensers according to the present invention, each body in the stack preferably containing a beverage- making ingredient. Alternatively, the beverage-making ingredients may be provided outside the bodies but associated therewith, e.g. by being contained in a package in which the stack is also contained.

Claims

1. A beverage dispenser comprising an open-top hollow body in which a beverage is contained in use, the body being formed of a synthetic plastics material with an external, integral handle extending from a side wall of the body, the side wall of the body being provided an integral rib extending around the side wall adjacent the open top of the hollow body; and a synthetic plastics lid having (1) a beverage dispensing outlet, (2) an integrally formed pouring lip associated with the outlet, (3) an integrally formed openable closure means for the outlet, (4) an integrally formed outer rib, and (5) an integrally formed inner rib which is spaced from the outer rib so that the rim of the open top body can be accommodated therebetween, the arrangement being such that one of the ribs on the lid is a snap-fit with the rib on the body so that the lid can be firmly engaged with the body after the dispenser has been filled with beverage.

2. A dispenser as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the rib associated with the body projects externally thereof and is engaged by the outer rib of the lid in use.

3. A dispenser as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the rib on the lid which is not a snap fit with the rib on the body is a close fit with the surface of the side wall of the body opposite to that on which the rib on the body is provided.

4. A dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the closure means is provided with a tab which extends laterally of the beverage dispensing outlet and the pouring lip.

5. A dispenser as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the tab is disposed within the depth of the lid and does not project peripherally outwardly from the lid.

6. A dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the handle is of upwardly opening channel section and is disposed wholly within the height of the hollow body.

7. A dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the outer rib of the lid is completely annular and the handle is recessed to receive the outer rib.

8. A beveral dispenser substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A stack comprising a multiplicity of rested bodies, each being the body of the beverage dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim; and a multiplicity of the lids of the beverage container as claimed in any preceding claim.

10. A stack and lids as claimed in claim 9, wherein each body in the stack contains a beveragemaking ingredient.

11. A stack and lids as claimed in claim 9, further including a package for at least the stack, and a beverage-making ingredient contained in the package.