GB2401773A

GB2401773A - A drinking vessel holder

Info

Publication number: GB2401773A
Application number: GB0311882A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Rokov
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-05-23
Filing date: 2003-05-23
Publication date: 2004-11-24
Also published as: GB0311882D0

Abstract

A drinking vessel holder comprises a sleeve 10 formed from a band 11 of material with the ends of the band joined together that engages around a tapered cup 1. The sleeve has at least one cut-out 12 whereby printed information on the cup is visible through the or each sleeve cut-out. The sleeve may include an extension (21c, Fig 2b) with a hole (23, Fig 2b) to receive a finger to act as a handle. The sleeve may be formed from a Y-shaped band, with the arms joined together at their ends to create a sleeve and the stem forming the extension. A support (42, Fig 4b) may be formed to support a finger and insulated areas (52, Fig 5a) may be used to provide additional protection for the user. The holder may support printed information and/or attachments such as coupons or product samples and made from embossed/plain card or card with insulating properties.

Description

Title: Drinking Vessel Holder The present invention relates to a drinking

vessel holder, especially for (but not limited to) tapered paper or plastics cups for hot and/or cold drinks.

It is well known to provide hot or cold drinks in paper or plastic cups which have no handles.

Such paper and plastic cups are widely used in cafes both for on site and take away consumption of beverages. Such cups are usually tapered and also come in a variety of sizes.

Because such cups have no handles, it can be difficult to hold the cup in the hand whilst the beverage is hot (in addition this problem exists with extremely cold drinks). It has been known to address this problem by the provision of a tapered annular sleeve, formed from a band of generally uniform width, which can slide up the outside of the tapered cup to provide an insulation layer between the cup and the user's hand. Examples of these known sleeves are shown in US patents No 5205473 and 5425497.

These sleeves have a number of disadvantages.

Firstly they require the cup to be held with an entire hand, therefore not allowing for the carry out of multiple purchases without the addition of a tray or paper carrier.

Secondly the design of the sleeve, being of uniform width, covers any logo that has been printed on the cup. This requires the additional printing of the logo on the sleeve and creates a problem where the sleeves are used for advertising and no additional printing is possible.

Thirdly one size is used for all cups. On larger cups, this means the sleeve does not go far enough up the cup. In addition the required tapering (for stacking purposes) makes the cup harder to hold and the sleeve does nothing to address this issue as it simply follows the line of the taper.

Fourthly the uniform width of the band with convex and concave elongate edges is not as efficient as it could be from a cutting, and therefore material usage, point of view.

Fifthly, very hot drinks, e.g. Black coffee, often requires the use of two sleeves.

The invention seeks to provide a drinking vessel holder which avoids at least some of the above problems of known sleeves.

According to the present invention there is provided a drinking vessel holder for engaging around a tapered cup comprising a sleeve formed from a band of material with the ends of the band joined together, said sleeve having at least one cut-out whereby, when said sleeve is mounted on a cup, printed information on the cup is visible through the or each sleeve cutout.

Preferably the cut-out is such that printed information is visible generally from a central surface section of the cup.

The sleeve may include a sleeve extension above said cut-out which, when the sleeve is mounted on a cup, extends above the cup to act as a carrying handle.

Preferably the sleeve extension includes a hole to receive a finger. Preferably the hole is formed by folding out a flap formed from a slot in the sleeve extension. Preferably the slot is C-shaped to create a Dshaped flap.

In one embodiment the sleeve is formed from a generally Y-shaped band, with the arms of the Y-shaped band being joined together at their ends to create a sleeve with a single cut-out, and the stem of the Y-shaped band forms a sleeve extension.

In another embodiment the sleeve is formed from a generally W-shaped band, with the arms of the W-shaped band joined together at their ends to create a sleeve with two cut-outs generally diametrically opposite each other.

Preferably one end of the band, when formed to create a sleeve, projects from the sleeve to create a support to engage a user's finger.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1 A and 1 B show front and side views of a first embodiment of holder, Figure 1 C shows a cutting profile of the first embodiment, Figures 2A and 2B show front and side views of a second embodiment of holder, Figure 2C shows a cutting profile of the second embodiment, Figures 3A and 3B show front and side views of a third embodiment of holder, and Figure 3C shows a cutting profile of the third embodiment.

Figure 4 shows a rear view of an embodiment with a finger support.

Figures SA and 5B show front a side view of an embodiment with added insulation.

Referring to Figures 1A and 1B there is shown a tapered paper cup 1 with a removable plastics lid 2. Cup I and lid 2 are of a type well known in the art.

A drinking vessel holder is provided for engaging around cup 1. The holder is in the form of a sleeve 10 formed trom a band 11 of material with the ends of the band overlapping and joined together. Sleeve 10 has one cut-out 12 whereby, when said sleeve is mounted on a cup, printed information such as a logo on the cup, e.g. the letter "X" (visible generally from a central surface section of the cup), is visible through the sleeve cut-out 12.

The holder of Figures 1A and 1B thus allow visibility of the logo on the cup preventing the necessity to print a logo on the sleeve. Also the sleeve is able to travel further up a larger cup, by reducing the width of material on one side of the sleeve, making it more practical to hold, and also more useful for a wider range of cup sizes than with known holders.

Band I] may be cut from a single sheet of material such as cardboard. A possible cutting profile is shown in Figure IC. It will be appreciated that such a cutting profile results in low wastage of material, with the "hatched" area showing the waste.

Referring now to Figures 2A and 2B there is shown a tapered paper cup I with a removable plastics lid 2. Cup 1 and lid 2 are of a type well known in the art.

A drinking vessel holder is provided for engaging around cup 1. The holder is in the form of a sleeve 20 formed from a "Y-shaped" band 21 of material with the arms 21 A,2 1 B of the band overlapping and joined together. The stem of the Y-shaped band forms a sleeve extension 21C.

Sleeve 20 has one cut-out 22 whereby, when said sleeve is mounted on a cup, printed information such as a logo on the cup, e.g. the letter "X" (visible generally from a central surface section of the cup), is visible through the sleeve cut-out 22.

Sleeve extension 21 C is above said cut-out 22 and includes a hole 23 to receive a finger to act as a carrying handle. Hole 23 is formed by folding out a D-shaped flap 24 formed from a C-shaped slot in the sleeve extension 21 C. The holder of Figures 2A and 2B thus allows visibility of the logo on the cup preventing the necessity to print a logo on the sleeve. Also the sleeve is able to travel further up a larger cup, by reducing the width of material on one side of the sleeve, making it more practical to hold, and also more useful for a wider range of cup sizes than with known holders. The holder allows multiple cups to be carried by inserting a number of fingers each into a hole 23 of different holders. Flap 24 serves in addition to insulate the finger from the heat of the lid.

Band 21 may be cut from a single sheet of material such as cardboard. A possible cutting profile is shown in Figure 2C. It will be appreciated that such a cutting profile results in nil or very low wastage of material.

Referring now to Figures 3A and 3B there is shown a tapered paper cup 1 with a removable plastics lid 2. Cup 1 and lid 2 are of a type well known in the art.

A drinking vessel holder is provided for engaging around cup 1. The holder is in the form of a sleeve 30 formed from a generally W-shaped band 31 (as shown more clearly in Figure 3C), with the arms of the W- shaped band overlapping and joined together at their ends to create a sleeve with two cut-outs 32A,32B generally diametrically opposite each other. Cut-outs 32A,32B, when said sleeve is mounted on a cup, allow opposing printed information such as a logo on the cup, e.g. the letter "X" (visible generally from a central surface section of the cup), to be visible through each sleeve cut-out.

The holder of Figures 3A and 3B thus allows visibility of the logo on the cup preventing the necessity to print a logo on the sleeve. Also the sleeve is able to travel further up the cup making it more practical to hold, and also more useful for a wider range of cup sizes than with known holders.

Band 31 may be cut from a single sheet of material such as cardboard. A possible cutting profile is shown in Figure 3C. It will be appreciated that such a cutting profile results in low wastage of material, with the "hatched" area showing the waste.

The invention may take a form different to that specifically described above. For example, as shown in Figure 4, one end 42 of the band 41, when formed to create a sleeve 40, may project from the sleeve to create a support to engage a user's finger.

The holder of the invention may be formed from any suitable material such as embossed paper/card, plain card or corrugated card, or other card or material with insulating properties.

The sleeve may include fold lines so that the sleeve can be packed flat prior to use. Also extra insulation could be created on areas of the sleeve where maximum hand contact is present, e.g. as shown in Figure 5 showing a sleeve 50 (on a cup I with lid 2) formed from a band 51 with areas of insulation 52.

The holder may support printed information such as advertising messages and/or attachments such as coupons or product samples, and could include the attachment of an electronic device or tag for use with computers and the lnternet.

In addition the sleeve may be constructed in one piece, without the need for gluing, with the aid of a clipping mechanism and profile. This would require that the user "clip" the sleeve together, prior to use, to form a band to slide over the cup. The sleeve of the invention may have a taper less than the taper of the cup whereby to reduce the tapered feel of the cup in the hand. This may be especially relevant to small cups which tend to have a greater degree of taper to them Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing form the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A drinking vessel holder for engaging around a tapered cup comprising a sleeve formed from a band of material with the ends of the band joined together, said sleeve having at least one cut-out whereby, when said sleeve is mounted on a cup, printed information on the cup is visible through the or each sleeve cut-out.

2. A drinking vessel according to claim 1, wherein the cut-out is such that printed information is visible generally from a central surface section of the cup.

3. A drinking vessel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sleeve includes a sleeve extension above said cut-out which, when the sleeve is mounted on a cup, extends above the cup to act as a carrying handle.

4. A drinking vessel according to claim 3, wherein the sleeve extension includes a hole to receive a finger.

5. A drinking vessel according to claim 4, wherein the hole is formed by folding out a flap formed from a slot in the sleeve extension.

6. A drinking vessel according to claim 5, wherein the slot is C-shaped to create a D-shaped flap.

7. A drinking vessel according to any of claims 3 to 6, wherein the sleeve is formed from a generally Y-shaped band, with the arms of the Y- shaped band being joined together at their ends to create a sleeve with a single cut-out, and the stem of the Y-shaped band forms a sleeve extension.

8. A drinking vessel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sleeve is formed from a generally W-shaped band, with the arms of the W-shaped band joined together at their ends to create a sleeve with two cut-outs generally diametrically opposite each other.

9. A drinking vessel according to any preceding claim, wherein one end of the band, when formed to create a sleeve, projects from the sleeve to create a support to engage a user's finger.

10. A drinking vessel substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.