JP2007508212A - Drinking container that accepts CD - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a container comprising a cup-type compartment having an opening and comprising a cover to be placed on said opening, said cover having an inner component and an outer component detachably connected to said inner component, between said inner component and said outer component connected to the inner component a cavity being formed for receiving one object or more objects, said cavity comprising two main surfaces being parallel to one another. It is characterized by that the two main surfaces of the cavity are at an angle of alpha, wherein 0°<alpha<90° to an opening plane formed by the opening.

Description

  The present invention relates to a container having an opening and a cup-type partition formed by a cover disposed in the opening. The cover has an inner component and an outer component that is removably coupled to the inner component, one or more between the inner component and the outer component coupled to the inner component A cavity for receiving further objects is formed, which consists of two main surfaces in parallel with each other. The invention further relates to a cover for such a container.

  Disposable containers are used to sell beverages, particularly in the so-called fast food area. Such containers usually have a cover because the consumer carries the container with the beverage. This essentially avoids beverage spillage. In particular for cold drinks, the cover further has an opening for introducing a drinking straw. Thus, the consumer can suck up the beverage without removing the cover.

  In many areas, for example also in the area of fast food supply, so-called added value is desirable. In the case of a container, this includes the addition of objects to generate further purchase incentives. For this reason, such objects must be connected to the container in an appropriate manner or integrated therein.

  Containers of the aforementioned type are described in US Pat. It is known in the art from 6,070,752. Prior art procedures provide a cavity coaxial with the axis of the container is placed in the cover and a CD is placed in the cavity. In addition, an opening is provided in the cover that is intended to introduce a drinking straw and is aligned with the central hole of the CD. The problem with the prior art containers is that a sealing procedure must be provided to prevent the beverage from entering the cavity, especially in the area of the opening of the inner component. CDs contaminated with the rest of the beverage can usually no longer be read. Such sealing procedures are expensive and expensive to manufacture, or are not sufficiently sealed to prevent the beverage from entering the cavity.

  U.S. Pat. 4,074,827 describes a beverage container with a cavity in a cover for receiving objects known in the prior art, but with an opening for a drinking straw provided outside the cavity. This allows the cavity to be manufactured with a sufficient seal. Here, it is inconvenient that regular size CDs do not fit into the cavity due to the geometrical situation caused by the size of the drinking cup on the one hand and the size of the CD on the other hand. In prior art containers, it is common for the main surface of each cavity to be essentially parallel to the open face of the cup-type container.

  It is the technical object of the present invention to identify a container, in particular a drinking container, in a cover in which the object is contained and can be safely protected from splashing beverages, said object being compared with the opening of the container Thus, it is possible to have a relatively large space.

  To achieve the above technical objective, the present invention teaches that the two major surfaces of the cavity are 0 ° <α <90 ° with respect to the opening surface formed by the opening. The main surface is a relatively large surface compared to other surfaces of the cavity.

  The invention makes it possible for an opening for a drinking straw, for example, to be arranged for objects that are relatively large to accommodate, even outside the cavity, if the main surface is tilted, and thus the factor 1 / A surface that is essentially larger than the cross section of the opening by cos (α) is based on the discovery that it can be used to accommodate the cavity as well as the opening.

  Preferably, 10 ° <α <50 °, more preferably 10 ° <α <30 °. In particular, the last mentioned range is sufficient to provide a so-called mini-CD to the size of a conventional drinking container, yet still has sufficient space for an opening located outside the cavity.

  The above geometric correlation applies in principle regardless of the shape of the container, the shape of the opening of the container, the shape and size of the object or objects. In the case of drinking containers, however, the opening is usually circular. The cavity is essentially cylindrical, especially when using CD as the object, and the main surface of the cavity is the cylindrical front.

  In particular, when the cover is applied on top, the axis of the opening and the axis of the cavity are offset radially relative to each other with X = 1 mm to 20 mm, in particular 3 mm to 10 mm, and are angle α relative to each other. Is preferred. In particular, the inner component and the outer component can each be provided with a drinking straw opening arranged in alignment for introducing the drinking straw into the partition with the cover, the drinking straw opening The part is arranged outside the cavity. The drinking straw opening is, for example, arranged in the portion of the cover in the axial direction of the container farthest from the opening of the container. Due to this, the probability of a very strong splash of the beverage is so low that the procedure for sealing the drinking straw opening against the introduced drinking straw can be achieved in a particularly simple manner. However, it is also conceivable for the drinking straw opening to be arranged in the part of the cover in the axial direction of the partition part closest to the opening.

  In principle, the disc-type object placed in the cavity may be arbitrary. The term 'disc-type object' is an object whose opposing major surface is at least 10 times that of the other surface. Preferably, the disc-type object is a data carrier such as a disc, CD, DVD, etc., in particular a circular or shaped CD. Compared to a circular CD, the shaped CD does not have a circular perimeter. For example, two opposing portions of a circle can be cut off. Preferably, the outer diameter of the disk-type object is the same as the inner diameter of the cavity or 1 to 5 mm smaller than it. The disc-type object may be a booklet, a ticket, or the like. The term 'disc-like' does not necessarily mean that the shape is circular. For example, a rectangular or square shape is also conceivable.

  The subject of the invention is further a cover for a container according to the invention, wherein the cover has an inner component and an outer component removably connected to the inner component, the inner configuration Between the element and the outer component coupled to the inner component, there is a cavity formed to receive one or more objects, the cavity consisting of two major surfaces in parallel with each other. And the two main surfaces of the cavity are 0 ° <α <90 ° with respect to the closing surface of the cover. The term 'closed surface' corresponds to the open surface of the cup-type partition. Also, the above description applies to similar methods.

  While the above example relates to a drinking cup, it is understood that other containers can also be provided with features of the present invention. For example, an arranged spout opening may be considered instead of a drinking straw opening. And the contents of the container can be not only liquid but also solid material (can be injected). Instead of a drinking straw opening, it is also possible to provide a spout from which the contents of the container are removed by a meal tool, such as a spoon or fork. Since such an outlet must have a larger diameter than the drinking straw opening, the shape of the structure represented by the present invention is particularly convenient.

  The container according to the present invention is typically, but not necessarily, a disposable product. That is, they are discarded after use. It is conceivable that the partition is made in particular from coated paper or cardboard. The cover and its components are typically made from synthetic polymers that are compatible with food.

  A variant of the invention based on the same general concept (arranged object tilt) relates to a container comprising a cup-type partition having an opening and a cover arranged in the opening, the cover being an inner component And an outer component removably coupled to the inner component, and one or more objects between the inner component and the outer component coupled to the inner component. Having a cavity formed for receiving, wherein the inner or outer component preferably consists essentially of a support surface for a disk-shaped or planar object, formed by an opening It is characterized in that the support surface is 0 ° <α <90 ° with respect to the open surface.

  Again, 3 ° <α <70 °, preferably 10 ° <α <50 °, and most preferably 10 ° <α <30 ° applies, where the above restrictions can be applied to each other in any way. It is possible that they are combined. The container may be a beverage container. The opening has an essentially circular cross section and / or the cavity has an essentially circular cross section with respect to a cross-sectional plane parallel to the opening. The support surface supports at least 10%, preferably at least 30%, more preferably at least 50%, in particular at least 70% of the area of the object and / or so that the support surface is essentially planar. It is formed. The axis A of the opening and the axis B of the cavity are offset radially relative to each other with X = 1 mm to 20 mm, in particular 3 mm to 10 mm and exist at an angle α relative to each other. The inner component and the outer component each comprise an aligned drinking straw opening for introducing a drinking straw into a partition with a cover, the drinking straw opening being located outside the cavity The A disc type object, in particular a circular or shaped CD, preferably a mini CD, is received in the cavity. The outer diameter of the disc-type object is considered to be the same as or smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity by 0.01 mm to 5 mm. The disc-type object includes a central hole and the support surface consists of an essentially cylindrical platform that is placed on or attached to the disc-type object. It is conceivable that the axis B of the table is parallel to the axis A of the opening or exists at an angle α with respect to the axis A. The drinking straw opening of the inner component may be located in a recess in the inner component that extends to the partition. The outer component may consist of a recessed area located above the drinking straw opening and extending essentially parallel to axis A.

  To that extent, the present invention further comprises a cover for the variant container described above, wherein the cover has an inner component and an outer component removably coupled to the inner component; A cavity is formed between the inner component and the outer component coupled to the inner component to receive one or more objects. Here, the inner component and / or the outer component comprise a support surface of the object, and the support surface is 0 ° <α <90 ° with respect to the closing surface.

  In the following, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings representing only one embodiment.

  A container 1 having a cup-type partition 2 with an opening 3 can be seen in FIG. Where the beverage is provided in the cup-type partition 2 is not shown. The cover 4 is disposed on the opening 3. The cover 4 includes an inner component 5 and an outer component 6 that is detachably coupled to the inner component 5. Between the inner component 5 and the outer component 6 connected to the inner component 5, a cavity 7 is formed to receive the CD8. The inner component 5 and the outer component 6 are each provided with aligned drinking straw openings 12, 13 for introducing a drinking straw 14 into a partition 2 provided with a cover 4. Here it can be seen that the drinking straw openings 12, 13 are outside the cavity 7. In the representation, it is further shown that the inserted CD 8 has an outer diameter that is only slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity 7.

  FIG. 9 shows a variation of the example as described above. The cover 4 here consists of three components, the inner component 5 comprising two partial components 5a and 5b. The partial component 5 a covers the opening 3. A cavity 7 for the object 8 is located between the partial component 5 b and the outer component 6. In a preferred embodiment of this variant, the partial component 5b and the outer component 6 are considered identical in shape and size (clarified in FIG. 9 to distinguish these components). Absent). The partial component 5b and the outer component 6 are attached to each other (by friction or snapping) via respective platforms 16a and 16b and / or respective ends 19a and 19b. The partial component 5b is alternately attached to the partial component 5a via the respective platforms 16a and 16c (by friction or snapping). This variant has advantages in the assembly process. It is possible to pre-assemble the partial component 5a and the outer component 6 with the enclosed object 8. When the beverage is handed over to the customer, the beverage is first filled in the partition 2. A partial component 5 a is then arranged on the partition 2. Finally, a pre-assembled part composed of the partial component 5b, the object 8 and the outer component 6 is pressed onto the partial component 5a, where that part is requested by the customer. Selected by the object. Apart from this, all general remarks concerning other variants apply as well.

  In FIG. 2 it can be seen that the geometrical conditions of the present invention are shown schematically and the cavity 7 of the cover 4 has two main planes 9, 10. These are now the cylindrical front surface of the cavity 7. Further schematically shown is an opening surface 11 formed by the opening 3. The main surfaces 9 and 10 are at an angle α with respect to the opening surface 11. 1 and 2, when the cover 4 is arranged at the top, the axis A of the (circular) opening 3 and the axis B of the (cylindrical) cavity 7 are radial relative to each other at a distance X. It can be further seen that it is offset to. Only this allows the drinking straw openings 12, 13 to be arranged outside the relatively large cavity 7 because of the size of the inserted (mini) CD, as can easily be seen in FIG.

  In FIG. 3 it is shown that the inner component 5 and the outer component 6 are connected to each other by a protrusion 15. This is particularly advantageous with respect to the simplified installation of the cover and the simplified assembly, but is not essential for the present invention.

  FIG. 4 shows a top view of the inner component 5 with the CD 8 inserted. From the comparison of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, it can be seen that the plane in which the drinking straw opening 13 is provided is parallel to the opening surface 11 of the opening 3. In contrast, the partial surface of the inner component 5 in which the cavity 7 is embedded is at an angle α with respect to the opening surface 11. It should be noted from the view of this figure that the cavities 7 and objects 8 are drawn as circles for simplicity, while these members are actually drawn as ellipses for the inclination angle α. It is clear that it should be.

  FIG. 5 shows a further variant of the container 1 according to the invention. The container 1 includes a cup-type partition 2 having an opening 3 and a cover 4 disposed on the opening 3, wherein the cover 4 is detachable from the inner component 5. An outer component 6 connected to the inner component 5, and one object 8 or between the inner component 5 and the outer component 6 connected to the inner component 5 It has a cavity 7 formed to receive a further object 8. The inner component 5 or the outer component 6 preferably consists of a support surface 10 a for an essentially disc-shaped or planar object 8, and the support surface 10 a is an opening surface formed by the opening 3. 11 is 0 ° <α <90 °.

  In general, the same comments regarding the first variant apply to the following differences or additions. The opening 3 has an essentially circular cross section and / or with respect to a cross section parallel to the opening 3, the cavity 7 has an essentially circular cross section. The support surface 10a supports at least 10%, preferably at least 30%, most preferably 50%, in particular at least 70% of the area of the object 3 and / or the support surface 10a is essentially planar. It is thought that it is formed as it is. The axis A of the opening 3 and the parallel axis B of the cavity 7 which is the central axis of the disc-shaped object 8 are X = 1 mm to 20 mm, in particular 3 mm to 10 mm, and are radially offset and related to each other. It is considered that the angle α is (when the cover 4 is disposed on the partition portion 2).

  The disc-type object 8 has a central hole 15 in which the support surface 10a preferably consists of an essentially cylindrical platform 16 for placing on or sticking to the disc-type object 8. The axis B ′ of the table 16 varies with X and / or is parallel to the axis A of the opening (3) or at an angle α with respect to the axis A.

  The drinking straw opening 13 of the inner component 5 may be located in the recess 17 of the inner component 5 extending to the partition (2) part. The outer component 6 comprises a recessed area 18 located above the drinking straw opening 13 and extending essentially parallel to the axis A. The recessed area 18 allows the drinking straw 14 to be inserted into the drinking straw openings 12, 13 at an angle of less than 45 ° to the axis A, in particular less than 30 °, preferably less than 20 °.

  The cover 4 includes an inner component 5 and an outer component 6 that is detachably connected to the inner component 5, and is connected to the inner component 5 and the inner component 5. A cavity 7 is formed between the outer components 6 to receive one or more objects, wherein the inner component 5 and / or the outer component 6 are for the object 8 It is clear that the support surface 10a is 0 ° <α <90 ° with respect to the closing surface 11.

  Note that in general, the entire cover 4 or a collection of its components, including the object 8, may be pre-assembled, for example as described with respect to FIG. More generally, it is conceivable that a component, a collection of pre-assembled components, or a pre-assembled cover 4 is designed to allow stacking.

It is a cross-sectional display of the container of this invention. 2 is a graphical representation of the shape of the structure. It is the schematic of the outer side of the horizontal direction of the cover of this invention. FIG. 6 is a top view of components inside a cover of the present invention with an inserted CD. 2 is a cross-sectional representation of a variant of the container of the present invention. 6 is a schematic representation of the shape of the structure according to the variant of FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the lateral outer side of the cover according to the variant of FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a top view of the variant of FIG. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional representation of a further variant of the container of the present invention.

Claims (24)

A container (1) comprising a cup-type partition (2) having an opening (3) and having a cover (4) disposed in the opening (3), wherein the cover (4) An inner component (5) and an outer component (6) removably coupled to the inner component (5), the inner component (5) and the inner component ( 5) having a cavity (7) formed to receive one object (8) or more objects (8) between said outer components (6) connected to 5), said cavity (7) Is a container composed of two main surfaces (9, 10) arranged in parallel to each other, and the two main surfaces (9, 10) of the cavity (7) are the opening surfaces (11) formed by the openings (3). ), 0 ° <α <90 °.
2. Container (1) according to claim 1, wherein 3 ° <α <70 °, preferably 10 ° <α <50 °, most preferably 10 ° <α <30 ° is applied, however Containers characterized in that the restrictions are joined together in any way.
3. Container (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the container (1) is a beverage container.
A container (1) according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the opening (3) has a circular cross section.
5. The container (1) according to claim 1, wherein the cavity (7) is cylindrical, and the main surface (9, 10) of the cavity (7) is cylindrical. A container characterized by a front surface.
The container (1) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein when the cover (4) is arranged at the top, the axis A of the opening (3) and the axis B of the cavity (7) are: , X = 1 mm to 20 mm, in particular 3 mm to 10 mm, radially offset relative to each other and present at an angle α relative to each other.
The container (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the inner component (5) and the outer component (6) are provided with the cover (4). (2) each having an aligned drinking straw opening (12, 13) for introducing a drinking straw (14), said drinking straw opening (12, 13) being arranged outside the cavity A container characterized by that.
A container (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a disc-type object (8), in particular a circular or shaped CD, preferably a mini-CD, is inserted into the cavity (7). A container characterized by that.
9. The container (1) according to claim 8, wherein the outer diameter of the disc-type object (8) is the same as or smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity (7) by 0.01 mm to 5 mm. A container characterized by.
10. A cover for a container (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the cover (4) comprises an inner component (5) and a detachable inner component (5). 1) between the inner component (5) and the outer component (6) connected to the inner component (5). Having a cavity (7) formed to receive one object (8) or more objects (8), said cavity (7) consisting of two main planes (9, 10) parallel to each other Wherein the two main planes (9, 10) of the cavity (7) are 0 ° <α <90 ° with respect to the closing surface (11).
A container (1) comprising a cup-type partition (2) having an opening (3) and having a cover (4) disposed in the opening (3), wherein the cover (4) An inner component (5) and an outer component (6) removably coupled to the inner component (5), the inner component (5) and the inner component ( 5) having a cavity (7) formed to receive one object (8) or more objects (8) between said outer components (6) connected to 5), wherein said inner Component (5) or the outer component (6) is preferably a container consisting essentially of a support surface (10a) for a disc-shaped or planar object (8), said support surface ( 10a) with respect to the opening surface (11) formed by the opening (3) 0 ° <alpha <container characterized in that it is a 90 ° (1).
12. Container (1) according to claim 11, wherein 3 ° <α <70 °, preferably 10 ° <α <50 °, most preferably 10 ° <α <30 ° is applied, however Containers characterized in that the restrictions are joined together in any way.
13. A container (1) according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the container (1) is a beverage container.
14. Container (1) according to one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the opening (3) has a circular cross section and / or the cavity (7) is the opening. Container having an essentially circular cross-section with respect to a cross-section parallel to part (3).
15. Container (1) according to one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the support surface (10a) is at least 10%, preferably at least 30%, more preferably at least at least in the region of the object (3). Container characterized in that it is formed to support 50%, in particular at least 70%, and / or its support surface (10a) is essentially planar.
The container (1) according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein when the cover (4) is arranged at the top, the axis A of the opening (3) and the axis B of the cavity (7) are , X = 1 mm to 20 mm, in particular 3 mm to 10 mm, offset radially relative to each other and angle α relative to each other.
17. A container (1) according to one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the inner component (5) and the outer component (6) are provided with the cover (4). (2) each having an aligned drinking straw opening (12, 13) for introducing a drinking straw (14), said drinking straw opening (12, 13) being arranged outside the cavity A container characterized by that.
A container (1) according to one of claims 11 to 17, wherein a disc-type object (8), in particular a circular or shaped CD, preferably a mini-CD, is inserted into the cavity (7). A container characterized by that.
19. Container (1) according to claim 18, wherein the outer diameter of the disc-type object (8) is equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity (7) by 0.01 mm to 5 mm. Characteristic container.
20. Container (1) according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the disc type object (8) comprises a central hole (15), wherein the support surface (10a) is of the disc type. Container characterized in that it consists of an essentially cylindrical platform (16) for placing or attaching objects (8).
21. Container (1) according to claim 20, wherein the axis B of the platform (16) is parallel to the axis A of the opening (3) or is at an angle α to the axis A. A container characterized by that.
A container (1) according to one of claims 11 to 21, wherein the drinking straw opening (13) of the inner component (5) extends over the partition (2) portion. Container located in the recess (17) of the inner component (5).
23. A container (1) according to one of claims 11 to 22, wherein the outer component (6) is located above the drinking straw opening (13) and essentially consists of the axis A. A container comprising a recessed area (18) extending in parallel to the container.
24. A container (1) according to one of claims 11 to 23, wherein the cover (4) is detachably connected to an inner component (5) and the inner component (5). One object (8) or between the inner component (5) and the outer component (6) connected to the inner component (5) A cavity (7) formed to receive the object (8), wherein the inner component (5) and / or the outer component (6) is the object (8); ), The support surface (10a) being 0 ° <α <90 ° with respect to the opening surface (11).

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