NL1026890C2 - Stackable cup or glass has base along edge of which is upright peripheral wall defining mouth aperture, base also having at least one groove equal in shape to at least part of edge of mouth aperture - Google Patents

Abstract

The stackable cup or glass (1) has a base (2) along the edge of which is an upright peripheral wall (3) defining a mouth aperture (4). The base also has at least one groove (5) equal in shape to at least part of the edge of the mouth aperture. Four grooves are provided in the base, which are partly circular in shape. The cups are thin-walled and when they are stacked, the mouth edge falls into a groove in the base, thus creating a more stable stacking arrangement.

Description

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STACKABLE HOLDER

The invention relates to a holder, such as, for example, a cup or glass, comprising a bottom and a circumferential wall standing up along the edge of the bottom, the circumferential wall defining a mouth opening. Such containers are, of course, widely known. At large events, such as a pop festival, drinks are sold in such containers. These holders are often made of a plastic material, so that the holders are suitable for single use or so that the holders cannot break easily and can be reused after cleaning.

Particularly during festivals where single-use cups are sold, it frequently happens that the containers are thrown to the ground after they have been emptied. At the end of such a festival, there is a great deal of plastic scattered throughout the site. This entails high cleaning costs.

When using reusable plastic containers, which must be cleaned after emptying, it is important that the containers dry thoroughly before being used again. Such holders can be stacked on top of each other with the mouth opening downwards, but this does not offer a stable structure and can certainly easily fall over in busy environments, such as for instance a festival site.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a holder 25 in which the user is more inclined to hand in the emptied holder at a central location than to throw it away on the ground. It is a further object of the invention to provide a container which, when stacked, provides a more stable construction, whereby the containers can be dried easily, thereby reducing the risk of such an accumulation falling over.

This object is at least partially achieved with a holder according to the invention, characterized in that the bottom comprises at least one groove, which groove is similar to at least a part of the edge of the mouth opening.

As a result, when the holders are stacked, the edge of the mouth opening can fall into the groove of an underlying holder, whereby a more stable construction is obtained. This stable construction is advantageous when the cleaned containers are stacked to be dried in this way. Furthermore, it offers the possibility for the users of the holders to create structures with this, which during festivals can give rise to record attempts, such as the largest stacked structure. As a result of such activities, at least a large part of the holders sold during a festival is collected at a central location, so that after the festival the plastic holders can easily be removed.

In a preferred embodiment of the holder according to the invention, the edge of the mouth opening is circular and the at least one groove is part-circular.

Another possibility is that with a holder according to the invention the edge of the mouth opening is polygonal, for example square, and that the at least one groove is linear.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mouth opening is circular and the number of grooves is four. In this embodiment, a holder is substantially similar to the most commonly used conventional holders and, by using four grooves, a stack can easily be made, wherein the structure has a rectangular ground surface.

In another preferred embodiment of the holder according to the invention, the at least one groove comprises a narrowing in order to provide a snap connection.

The different holders can hereby be clicked on each other, whereby the stability of the stacking of holders is increased.

The invention further comprises a combination of a number of holders according to the invention, wherein a first holder is placed on at least a second holder and a third holder adjacent to the second holder, the edge of the mouth opening of the first holder falling into at least one groove in the bottom of the second container and in at least one groove in the bottom of the third container.

These and other features of the invention are further elucidated with reference to the accompanying figures.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an accumulation of containers according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows a cross-section along the line II-II

shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows holders 1, each of which has a bottom 2 and a peripheral wall 3 standing up along the edge of the bottom 2. The circumferential wall 3 defines a mouth opening 4.

Grooves 5 are provided in the bottom 2. In the embodiment shown, there are in each case arranged in the bottom 2 four grooves 5, which are part-circular. The grooves 5 are similar to at least a part of the edge of the mouth opening 4, which in this embodiment is circular.

Figure 2 shows a cross-section along the line II-II in Figure 1. The cups 1 are thin-walled. Figure 2 clearly shows that the bottom 2 of the thin-walled cups 1 is deformed such that grooves 5 are arranged therein. When the different cups 1 are stacked on top of each other, the mouth edge 4 thus falls into a groove 5 in the bottom 2. This results in a more stable stacking.

1026890

Claims (7)

1. Holder, such as for example a cup or a glass, comprising a bottom and a circumferential wall standing up along the edge of the bottom, wherein the circumferential wall defines a mouth opening, characterized in that the bottom comprises at least one groove, which groove is uniform on at least a part of the edge of the mouth opening. 2. Holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the edge of the mouth opening is circular and wherein the at least one groove is part-circular. 3. Holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the edge of the mouth opening is polygonal, for example square, and wherein the at least one groove is linear. 4. Holder as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the number of grooves in the bottom is equal to the number of sides of the mouth opening. 5. Holder as claimed in claim 4, wherein the mouth opening is circular and wherein the number of grooves is four. A holder according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one groove comprises a narrowing in order to provide a snap connection. 7. Combination of a number of holders according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a first holder is placed on at least a second and a third holder adjacent to the second holder, the edge of the mouth opening of the first holder falling into at least one groove in the bottom 1026890. > from the second holder and in at least one groove in the bottom of the third holder. 1026890