SK2796A3 - Openable glass with concave bottom equipped with stabilizing means - Google Patents

Abstract

The preformed concave bottom (51) of the fold-open goblet, made from a folded rectangular semi-rigid sheet with both halves being superimposed, is a dihedron delimited by the surfaces of two isosceles triangles inscribed within two right isosceles triangles while having a common base and apexes, while a semi-rigid thin lateral strip (36) forming a polygon for supporting the goblet is secured about the gobelet's base when it is unfolded.

Description

Expandable cup with concave bottom equipped with stabilizers

Technical field

The invention relates to an expandable cup made of a semi-rigid rectangular sheet which is folded into two halves such that the halves rest on top of each other and their side edges are connected to each other and whose bottom, pre-shaped by scoring, forms a concave shape after opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Patent FR-A-2,614,873 discloses a cup of the above type in which the pressure exerted by the fingers holding the cup when carried to the mouth corresponds to the concave area of the largest wall spacing that extends through the fold line of the original sheet as well as random fold lines they may arise during the shaping of this bottom, especially if this activity is carried out by a manually untrained person. All of these fold lines create areas of weakness of the concave bottom while holding the cup in your fingers. The cup then tends to return to its original shape and collapse. Collapse of the cup can be prevented by holding the side edges that secure the two halves of the sheet together, but this is not the natural hand position.

FR-A-2,629,052 then discloses closure means using the stabilizing flaps described in FR-A-2,614,873. This solution is effective but at the same time quite complicated for use by an untrained user.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an expandable collapsible cup provided with a preformed concave bottom that does not exhibit unwanted bends causing the collapsing of the cups described in the above patents. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a cup to facilitate opening by simply pressing the side edges and further improving its stability when opened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first embodiment of the invention, the preformed concave bottom of the cup is formed by wedge-delimited surfaces of two isosceles triangles having a common base and common peaks.

It is a further embodiment of the invention that a semi-rigid thin strip is attached around the base of the cup, the lower edge of which forms a polygon supporting said cup in its broken-down state.

Overview of the drawings

The invention will be further described in specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a cut and grooved line for forming a cup according to the invention.

Fig. 2 and FIG. 3 show two stages of forming the cup and in particular its bottom.

Fig. 4 shows a formed cup placed upside down to better depict its bottom.

Fig. 5 shows a cup according to the invention which has been formed and subsequently folded to reduce its volume and to open it easily.

Fig. 6 shows the same cup according to the invention in an expanded state.

Fig. 7 shows a folded cup equipped with stabilizing flaps.

Fig. 8 shows the cup of FIG.

Fig. 9 then shows the cup according to the invention of FIG. 8 with the stabilizing flaps in a position ensuring its balance.

In FIG. 10 shows an expandable concave bottom cup according to the present invention and stabilizing strips before being attached to the cup.

Fig. 11 shows the expandable cup of FIG. 10 provided with stabilizing strips in partial cross-section so as to show the concave bottom of the cup.

Fig. 12 shows the cup of FIG. 11 in a collapsed state, the stabilizing belt of which is shown in partial section so as to show the triangular bottom of the cup.

In FIG. 13 shows an expandable cup according to the invention in a collapsed state, as well as stabilizing strips prior to attachment to the collapsed cup.

Fig. 14 shows the open cup of FIG. 13 with stabilizing strips attached, one of which is cut off so as to show the concave bottom of the cup.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The cup according to the invention is made of an elongated rectangular sheet (Fig. 1) consisting of a semi-rigid material, the central part of which is provided with a rhombus forming a rhombus shape 1, the angles at its opposite vertices 2 located near the sides of the sheet 3. sharp and preferably situated on the center line 4 of this sheet. The shape of the diamond 1 defines the surface of the concave bottom 5 of the future cup (FIG. 4) in the unfolded state. Attached to this first diamond 1 is a second set of grooves in the form of a square 6 having two opposite peaks 7 at the points 2 of the diamond 1 located on the center line 4. This square 6 is the bottom of the next cup (fig. 5) . Two longitudinal grooves 8 (FIG. 1), parallel to the longer sides of said sheet and passing through the apexes 2 and 7 of the rhombus 1, respectively. squares 6 define the area where the side edges 9 of the cup are connected to each other. The central folding groove 10 (FIG. 1), parallel to the longer sides of the sheet 3, then passes through the remaining peaks 11 and 12 of the square 6 and the rhombus 1, forming the fold lines of the bottom 5.

To form the cup (FIG. 4), the lines (FIG. 1) are gradually bent along the central folding groove 10 (FIG. 2) so that the outer portion 13 of the future cup forms a cavity. The bottom 5 of the future cup, which initially has the shape of a rhombus 1 (FIG. 1), is transformed into a wedge formed by two isosceles triangles 14 and 15 having a common base 16 and a concavity of the bottom 5 begins. located on both sides of the bottom 5 until they are curved by changing the bending direction along the central bending line

10. do not reverse and obtain a convex shape formed by two wedges 21 and 22 with a central edge 19 and 22, respectively. 20, which then form the side walls of the cup (FIG. 4). Continuing this movement, the concave bottom 5 forms a cavity, while the edges 23 and 24 of the convex wedge 21 and 22, located on both sides of this concave bottom 5 and forming regions 9 (FIG. 4) in which the side walls are joined to each other. they close to each other, and at the end of this movement, they begin to overlap by expanding in the area of the lateral bend 8. Thereafter, the side walls can be joined together to form a cup having a rhombic top opening.

The drinking region of the rim 25 (FIG. 6) is located in the region of the central fold line 10, or the edge 25 intersects the central fold line 10. The cup (Fig. 6) is then of course held close to the ends 12 of the common base 16 (Fig. 3) of both triangles 14 and 15 forming a concave wedge-shaped bottom with excellent finger pressure since it does not contain any folds that could cause choir cup.

By pressing the groove 8 in the areas 9 (FIG. 4) where the sidewalls 21 and 22 are joined, the concave bottom 5 continues to form a cavity. The area 26 located between the diamond 1 (FIG. 1), representing the bottom 5, and the square 6, simultaneously deforms gradually. The central bending groove 10 (FIG. 4) folds in this region 26 and the surface gradually becomes two rectangular isosceles triangles 27 and 28 formed from the square 6, which are folded on top of each other as the opposing sidewalls 21 and 22 approach each other. (Fig. 1). These triangles joined by their diagonal, which is common to the base 16 (FIG. 2) of the triangles 14 and 15, forming a concave bottom 5 (FIG. 5), are stacked on top of each other. The cup (FIG. 5) is then opened, whereby the regions 9 where the opposing side panels 21 and 22 are connected to each other are situated in the central region of the composite cup, while the bending grooves 19 and 20 now form the side edges of the composite cup. In order to facilitate this operation, it is possible to create a groove 29 (FIG. 1) formed by lines that are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the central fold line 10.

To open the cup (Fig. 6) it is then only necessary to exert pressure on the side edges 19 and 20 of the folded cup (Fig. 5) and change the direction of movement when the concave bottom 5 (Fig. 10) changes to the original shape described above. 4), which is formed by the two triangles 14 and 15 (FIG. 3), having a common side 16 which is the diagonal of the original diamond 1 (FIG. 1). When this position is reached, the wedge formed by the concave bottom 5 (Fig. 6) becomes sufficiently rigid and the cup is then in the opened state.

The original rectangular lines may be enlarged by the flaps 30 (FIG. 7) described in FR-A-2,614,873, which have a bend line 21 / at their base allowing the flaps 30 to be bent to ensure the stability of the cup itself (FIG. 9). When the cup is fully folded, each flap 30 is folded about its own axis of symmetry, which is also an extension of the side edges 19 and 20 of the cup. The cup (FIG. 8) is opened as described above, the flaps 30 then forming two wedges, the bends 32 of which extend the side edges 19 and 20.

When pressure is exerted on the edges 32 in the groove region 31 located in the base of the flaps 30, the wedge formed by these flaps 30 is flattened by deformation. Thereafter, the flaps 30 can be pivoted, the bending direction reversed to form another wedge corresponding to the shape of the sides 21 and 22 (FIG. 9) of the cup, thereby forming fixed support points 33 which act in combination with the points 34 positioned at the end of the regions 9 where the sidewalls 21 and 22 are connected to each other and which are close to the apexes of triangles 2 forming the concave bottom 5 of the cup.

The stability of the glass can be improved by a solution that is both more economical in terms of material consumption and more user-friendly.

This solution consists in attaching the thin semi-rigid strip 36 to the side wall 35 of the cup (FIGS. 10 and 11) in its unfolded state, one side 37 of which is in contact with the surface on which the open cup rests and forms a supporting polygon . This belt 36, made of one or more parts, surrounds all or part of the base of the cup.

In a glass made of a semi-rigid sheet folded in two halves with a concave bottom 38 (Figs. 13 and 14) which is provided with grooves and fastened by welding in areas 39 where the folded sidewalls 44 are joined to each other to facilitate its formation. it is only necessary to add a rectangular semi-rigid thin strip 40, one side 41 of which lies on the deflection 42 of the bottom 28 of the unopened cup. This strip 40 is secured at least at its ends 43 to regions 39 where the sidewalls 44 of the cup are connected to each other, possibly to the portion 45 overlapping the sidewalls 44 of the cup when it is formed. The belt 36 (FIG. 10) or belt 46 (FIG. 13) comprises, if necessary, a knurling 46 corresponding to the knurling 47 on the side wall 35 or 44, whose shapes match when the cup is opened. The width 49 or 50 of this strip is preferably equal to or greater than the depth of the cavity formed by the concave bottom 38 or 51.

In the expandable preformed cup (FIG. 10, FIG. 11, FIG. 12), the semi-rigid thin strip 36 is positioned on both sides of the base of the cup, preferably in the unfolded position such that the lower edge 37 of the sheets 36 forms a supporting polygon. Each of the belts 36 is secured at least at its ends 54, which overlap regions 55 in which the opposing side walls 35 of the cup are connected to each other. When the cup is folded (FIG. 12), the side bands 36 overlap the triangular base 21 of the cup. These side strips can be welded or glued.

At the top of the cup (FIGS. 10 and 14), it is possible to form a small flap 56 a few centimeters wide that extends the edge of the cup. This flap 56, when folded, allows a hem suitable for drinking. This flap 56 can be further expanded by a ring 57 (FIG. 12) to close the folded cup which is separated from the flap 56 by a cross-section.

The ring 57 may be sealed by gluing, welding, fastening, or any other suitable means. When using a glass, it is then necessary to pre-remove the ring 57, which forms a closure ensuring purity of the contents.

The cup according to the invention can easily be formed from a compact sheet of cardboard which is covered on its inner side with a thin layer of plastic, ensuring the impermeability of the board and also fastening the edges 9 or 55 to each other by welding.

Claims (7)

PATENT CLAIMS Expandable cup of semi-rigid sheet, in the central part of which is a pre-formed bottom (5), which in the folded state is formed by two walls (21, 22), which are fixed together by their edges (39, 55) and further by a concave bottom wherein said cup is simply formed by pressure on its side edges (19, 20), the walls of said cup being provided with stabilizing flaps (30) whose ends form support points for stabilizing the cup base, characterized in that: the preformed bottom (5) is the wedge-delimited surfaces of two isosceles triangles (14, 15) having a common base (16) and whose peaks (2) form an acute angle and coincide with the peaks (7) of two adjacent rectangular isosceles triangles (27, 28), forming a square (6), the two parts of which are disposed on each side of the base (16), stacked in a collapsed state; the cup base is stabilized by attaching at least one side strip (36, 40) whose lower edges (37, 41) form, in cooperation with the points (52) of the concave bottom, all or part of the supporting polygon of said cup; the flap (56) extends the walls (35) of the cup and is bent down to form the top edge of the cup. Cup according to claim 1, characterized in that the strength of the wedge forming the bottom (5) is ensured by a single bending line (16). Cup according to claim 1, characterized in that a groove (29) which is parallel to the edges of the cup is provided in the region (26) of the bottom (5) to facilitate the passage of the cup from the folded state to the unfolded state. Cup according to claim 1, characterized in that said side bands (36, 40) are attached to the cup by attaching their edges (43, 54) to areas (55, 39) in which the sidewalls (35, 44) are connected to one another. ) cups. The cup of claim 1, wherein the flap (56) terminates in a contact strip (57) separated from said flap by a cross-section (58) that allows the cup to be closed by shaping the strip and which ensures the integrity of the interior of said cup. Cup according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the method for producing the cup comprises shaping the cup and its bottom in the unfolded state before its final opening. Cup according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made of a compact sheet of cardboard covered on the inside with a thin layer of plastic.