GB2128469A

GB2128469A - Interlocking containers

Info

Publication number: GB2128469A
Application number: GB08229433A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alec Thomas Newman; Robert Edward Coles
Original assignee: GEN FOODS Ltd; General Foods Inc
Current assignee: GEN FOODS Ltd; General Foods Inc
Priority date: 1982-10-14
Filing date: 1982-10-14
Publication date: 1984-05-02
Also published as: GB2128469B

Abstract

A container (1) comprises a base (2) and a wall (3) integral with and upstanding from the base (2) to define therewith a reservoir for beverage ingredients, the wall (3) terminating in a rim (4) at the top thereof and being provided with two inwardly projecting annular shoulders (5, 6), so that when formed into a stack the upper shoulder (6) on one container cooperates with the lower shoulder (6) on the container above it to interlock the two containers together since wall portion 7 is steeper than wall portion 8. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Interlocking containers The present invention relates to containers and in particular to drinking cups which are used in the consumption and/or sale of hot or cold beverages.

Drinking cups of this type may be arranged for use in a stack with the dry ingredients which are reconstituted with hot or cold water to form the beverage being pre-packed in the bases of the cups in the stack.

Containers which can be nested together to form a stack thereof are known, but many of the stacks so-formed suffer from the disadvantage that they telescope or jam under a vertical load.

Interlocked cup stacks are advantageous since they can be handled automatically and thus lead to labour saving opportunities as opposed to the handling of non-interlocked cups.

We have now developed a container which includes an improved interlocking feature.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a container which comprises a base and a wall integral with and upstanding from the base to define therewith a reservoir for liquid, the wall terminating in a rim at the top thereof and being provided with two inwardly projecting annular shoulders, the upper shoulder on one container co-operating with the lower shoulder on another container to interlock the two containers together.

The engagement of the containers may be frictional and in this case the portion of the wall between the upper shoulder and the rim of the container is formed at a steeper angle than that of the portion of the wall between the upper shoulder and the lower shoulder.

Alternatively, the engagement of the containers may be by means of a positive locking feature. For example the portions of the wall between the upper shoulder and the rim and between the lower shoulder and the upper shoulder may be provided on the inner surfaces thereof with grooved or notched indents which are complemented by corresponding projections formed on the outer surfaces thereof, the upper grooved or notched indent on one container co-operating with the lower projection on a second container to interlock the two said containers together.

The containers of the present invention are preferably cups which will generally be formed from a thermoplastics material. Whilst any thermoplastics material may be used to form the containers, currently commercially suitable materials include polystyrene, acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene, and polypropylene resins, optionally filled with, for example, chalk or talc for additional strength. Barrier resins or laminates/coextrusions may be used to improve the shelf life of the beverage ingredients.

The containers of the present invention are designed to be interlocked together and thus may readily be formed into a stack thereof. The top container in such a stack may be provided with a plus or snap-on cap to retain the beverage ingredients in the cup. The stack may be wrapped and in this instance a plug is to be preferred to a snap-on cap since the plug allows the enveloping film to be drawn into the top aperture region of the stack and enables adequate top pressure to be obtained. The use of a plug also prevents deformation of the top container in the stack. A cap is, however, also acceptable and could be cheaper to manufacture than a plug. It has also been found that by using thin thermoformable sheet a shallow cap is deformed under vacuum to form an aperture into which enveloping film is drawn. Preferred methods of wrapping are described in U.K.Patent No. 1 539729.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the container is provided on the side thereof near to its base with a powder seal which prevents powder displacement from the container. The powder seal may be formed by the engagement of the base of one container with a shoulder formed near to the base on the inner side wall of another container.

The present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a part cross-sectional view through two interlocked cups in accordance with the invention; and Figure 2 is a side elevation of a cup in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawings, each cup is generally indicated at 1 and has an essentially cylindrical base 2 with an upstanding integral wall 3 formed around its periphery. The free end of wall 3 is turned over to form a lip 4.

The wall 3 has an upper annular shoulder 5 and a lower annular shoulder 6 formed near to the top thereof. When two cups are stacked together shoulder 6 of the uppermost cup rests upon shoulder 5 of the lowermost cup. The portion 7 of wall 3 between shoulder 5 and rim 4 is steeper than the portion 8 of wall 3 between shoulder 5 and shoulder 6, so that when the cups are stacked together they are locked by frictional engagement.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings a further shoulder 9 is formed near to the base of the cup and this shoulder 9 engages land 10 of the base 2 of the cup above it. Land 10 sits on the shoulder 9 to separate the cups in the stack by a pre-determined space which may be utilised to pre-pack the ingredients of a beverage produced in the cup. The co-operation of land 10 and shoulder 9 also forms a powder seal which prevents the displacement of the beverage ingredients from the base of the cup. As cups are removed from the stack, the ingredients of the beverage are present in the bottom of the cup ready for the addition of hot or cold water in a manner known per se.

1. A container which comprises a base and a wall integral with and upstanding from the base to define therewith a reservoir for liquid, the wall terminating in a rim at the top thereof and being provided with two inwardly projecting annular

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Interlocking containers The present invention relates to containers and in particular to drinking cups which are used in the consumption and/or sale of hot or cold beverages. Drinking cups of this type may be arranged for use in a stack with the dry ingredients which are reconstituted with hot or cold water to form the beverage being pre-packed in the bases of the cups in the stack. Containers which can be nested together to form a stack thereof are known, but many of the stacks so-formed suffer from the disadvantage that they telescope or jam under a vertical load. Interlocked cup stacks are advantageous since they can be handled automatically and thus lead to labour saving opportunities as opposed to the handling of non-interlocked cups. We have now developed a container which includes an improved interlocking feature. Accordingly, the present invention provides a container which comprises a base and a wall integral with and upstanding from the base to define therewith a reservoir for liquid, the wall terminating in a rim at the top thereof and being provided with two inwardly projecting annular shoulders, the upper shoulder on one container co-operating with the lower shoulder on another container to interlock the two containers together. The engagement of the containers may be frictional and in this case the portion of the wall between the upper shoulder and the rim of the container is formed at a steeper angle than that of the portion of the wall between the upper shoulder and the lower shoulder. Alternatively, the engagement of the containers may be by means of a positive locking feature. For example the portions of the wall between the upper shoulder and the rim and between the lower shoulder and the upper shoulder may be provided on the inner surfaces thereof with grooved or notched indents which are complemented by corresponding projections formed on the outer surfaces thereof, the upper grooved or notched indent on one container co-operating with the lower projection on a second container to interlock the two said containers together. The containers of the present invention are preferably cups which will generally be formed from a thermoplastics material. Whilst any thermoplastics material may be used to form the containers, currently commercially suitable materials include polystyrene, acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene, and polypropylene resins, optionally filled with, for example, chalk or talc for additional strength. Barrier resins or laminates/coextrusions may be used to improve the shelf life of the beverage ingredients. The containers of the present invention are designed to be interlocked together and thus may readily be formed into a stack thereof. The top container in such a stack may be provided with a plus or snap-on cap to retain the beverage ingredients in the cup. The stack may be wrapped and in this instance a plug is to be preferred to a snap-on cap since the plug allows the enveloping film to be drawn into the top aperture region of the stack and enables adequate top pressure to be obtained. The use of a plug also prevents deformation of the top container in the stack. A cap is, however, also acceptable and could be cheaper to manufacture than a plug. It has also been found that by using thin thermoformable sheet a shallow cap is deformed under vacuum to form an aperture into which enveloping film is drawn. Preferred methods of wrapping are described in U.K.Patent No. 1 539729. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the container is provided on the side thereof near to its base with a powder seal which prevents powder displacement from the container. The powder seal may be formed by the engagement of the base of one container with a shoulder formed near to the base on the inner side wall of another container. The present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a part cross-sectional view through two interlocked cups in accordance with the invention; and Figure 2 is a side elevation of a cup in accordance with the invention. Referring to the drawings, each cup is generally indicated at 1 and has an essentially cylindrical base 2 with an upstanding integral wall 3 formed around its periphery. The free end of wall 3 is turned over to form a lip 4. The wall 3 has an upper annular shoulder 5 and a lower annular shoulder 6 formed near to the top thereof. When two cups are stacked together shoulder 6 of the uppermost cup rests upon shoulder 5 of the lowermost cup. The portion 7 of wall 3 between shoulder 5 and rim 4 is steeper than the portion 8 of wall 3 between shoulder 5 and shoulder 6, so that when the cups are stacked together they are locked by frictional engagement. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings a further shoulder 9 is formed near to the base of the cup and this shoulder 9 engages land 10 of the base 2 of the cup above it. Land 10 sits on the shoulder 9 to separate the cups in the stack by a pre-determined space which may be utilised to pre-pack the ingredients of a beverage produced in the cup. The co-operation of land 10 and shoulder 9 also forms a powder seal which prevents the displacement of the beverage ingredients from the base of the cup. As cups are removed from the stack, the ingredients of the beverage are present in the bottom of the cup ready for the addition of hot or cold water in a manner known per se. CLAIMS

1. A container which comprises a base and a wall integral with and upstanding from the base to define therewith a reservoir for liquid, the wall terminating in a rim at the top thereof and being provided with two inwardly projecting annular shoulders, so that when formed into a stack the upper shoulder on one container co-operates with the lower shoulder on the container below it to interlock the two containers together.

2. A container as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the portion of the wall between the upper shoulder and the rim of the container is formed at an angle which is steeper than that of the portion of the wall between the upper shoulder and the lower shoulder.

3. A container as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the portions of the wall between the upper shoulder and the rim and between the lower shoulder and the upper shoulder are provided on the inner surfaces thereof with grooved or notched indents which are complemented by corresponding projections formed on the outer surfaces thereof, so that when formed into a stack the upper grooved or notched indent on one container co-operates with the lower projection on the container below it to interlock the two containers together.

4. A container as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3 which is formed from a thermoplastics material.

5. A container as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the thermoplastics material is polystyrene, acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene or polypropylene.

6. A stack of containers which comprises a plurality of containers as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims interlocked together.

7. A stack of containers as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the top container of the stack is provided with a plug or snap-on cap.

8. A stack of containers as claimed in Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein beverage ingredients are contained in the bottom of each container in the stack.

9. A stack of containers as claimed in any one of Claims 6 to 8 in which a powder seal is formed between adjacent containers by the engagement of the base of one container with a shoulder formed near to the base on the inner side wall of the container below it in the stack.

1 0. A stack of containers as claimed in any one of Claims 6 to 9 which is wrapped with a thermoformable sheet material.

11. A container as claimed in Claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.

1 2. A stack of containers as claimed in Claim 5 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.