US20120241514A1

US20120241514A1 - Insulation Paper Cup

Info

Publication number: US20120241514A1
Application number: US13/072,749
Authority: US
Inventors: Tzer-Huang Guo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-03-27
Filing date: 2011-03-27
Publication date: 2012-09-27

Abstract

An insulation paper cup, which mainly comprises an inner cup, intermediate layer and external cardboard; the inner cup is provided with a bottom at one end and an opening at the other end, and the opening is fitted with a flange; the intermediate layer made of PLA foaming materials is arranged at periphery of the inner cup, while the external cardboard is adhered onto the intermediate layer and printed with letters or patterns; with this combined structure, the insulation paper cup features excellent heat/cold insulation and non-condensing effect; due to the characteristics of PLA such as: natural property, non-toxicity, recyclability and environmental friendliness, the product can be recycled without causing any disposal problems and any burden on the environment.

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a paper container, and more particularly to an innovative one which is designed to incorporate inner cup, intermediate layer and external cardboard, so as to provide a heat-insulating, non-condensing and environmental-friendly paper cup.
2. Description of Related Art
Paper containers, such as paper cups or bowls, are generally constructed of single-layer paper without any surface treatment. However, such single-layer paper products are very thin and have very poor insulation effect despite of lower manufacturing cost, resulting possibly in accidental scalding.
Such paper containers are gradually phased out in the market due to incompliance with safety requirements; and other paper containers of higher property, for example, those subjecting to wax or LDPE coating still have the following shortcomings:
1. Expensive Investment on Machines:
Such products are often manufactured by expensive machines such as: wax or PE coating machines and IR heaters, so some enterprises or individuals turn a cold shoulder on the investment since the higher purchase cost will lead to higher sales price of the products.
2. Poor External Foaming & Printing Effect
Generally, foaming materials are coated onto the periphery of the paper feedstock, then molding, foaming and pattern printing of the paper containers are conducted; but, the foamed pores or irregular shape of the cup will result in obscure pattern or color or difficult printing and molding.
Hence, some attempts are made to find out decomposable materials, but their waste may cause environmental pollution.
In view of the shortcomings of the available materials for insulation containers, the inventor has, based on years of experience in R&D of relevant products, endeavored to find out a favorable solution, and finally developed an innovative “insulation paper cup” that features simple construction, lower cost, higher safety performance and insulation as well as environmental protection.

CONTENT OF INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an insulation paper cup, which is made of Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) foaming materials by means of injection molding and lamination, etc; and an intermediate thin layer is formed within the space between the inner cup and external cardboard, realizing efficient heat insulation and non-condensing effect.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an insulation paper cup, allowing printing beautiful pattern on the surface of external cardboard for the purpose of protection and satisfactory visual effect.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an insulation paper cup, which is made of easily available PLA in a simple process; this enables to save efficiently the cost in mass production, and also prevent environmental pollution since PLA can be decomposed.
The features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be appreciated that the present invention is capable of a variety of embodiments and various modifications by those skilled in the art, and all such variations or changes shall be embraced within the scope of the following claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The exploded view of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein the insulation paper cup 1 is provided with a cover 2, which can be used for common beverage and coffee, etc; and an opening is set at the center or close to the edge of the cover 2 for insertion of suction tube or for drinking.
The exploded view of the insulation paper cup of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 2, wherein the insulation paper cup 1 comprises of an inner cup 11, an intermediate layer 12 and an external cardboard 13; of which, the inner cup 11 is provided with an opening at one end and a sealed hollow cylinder (or not limited herein) at the other end to accommodate the liquid; the external cardboard 13 made of paper is integrally covered onto the periphery of the inner cup 11 to form a protective structure, especially for external cardboard 13 with aesthetically pleasing patterns, letters and colors; in particular, the intermediate layer 12 set within the space between the inner cup 11 and external cardboard 13 is made of PLA foaming materials and processed into an insulation structure by means of injection molding and lamination, etc; said PLA is an environmental-friendly material made of corn, which is characterized by that:
(A) Surface adhesion—easy adhesion with ink and glue;
(B) Permeability—water/gas permeable for quick condensation;
(C) Transparency and luster—good visual effect;
(D) Aroma resistance—fragrance of food. can be maintained;
(F) Grease resistance—excellent resistance to most of edible greases;
(G) Printability—vivid patterns can be printed onto the surface;
(H) Hardness—smaller thickness than common plastics under the same strength;
(I) Heat sealability—quick sealing under low temperature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: an exploded view of the insulation paper cup and cover in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2: an exploded view of the insulation paper cup in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3: an assembled view of the insulation paper cup in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4: a sectional view of the insulation paper cup in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5: an assembled view of the insulation paper cup and cover in the other preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(a) Native—it can be supplied or acquired stably from corn.
(b) Non-toxic—it can be used to accommodate or take food in compliance with food contact safety certification.
(c) Environmental-friendly—biodegradable materials are used and finally decomposed into CO2 and water without any environmental pollution.
Said intermediate layer 12 made of PLA foaming materials is mated with the inner cup 11 and external cardboard 13 to form the insulation paper cup 1 of the present invention; the assembled sectional view of the insulation paper cup is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.
When the insulation paper cup 1 is used to accommodate hot drinks, satisfactory heat insulation effect can be realized by this combined structure; otherwise, when the insulation paper cup 1 is used to accommodate cold drinks, satisfactory cold insulation effect without condensation can be realized in the same way.
Referring to FIG. 5, the insulation paper cup 1 is available with several dimensions but the same diameter of the opening; and the cover 2 of a single dimension can be incorporated onto the insulation paper cup 1 of different dimensions to save the cost and increase the economic benefits.
The present invention is a utility model of simple construction and practicability, so the patent claims are made hereunder.
However, it should be appreciated that the equivalent changes of the preferred embodiment and drawings are made within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. An insulation paper cup, comprising:

an inner cup, which is provided with an opening at one end and a sealed hollow cylinder at the other end to accommodate the liquid;

an intermediate layer, formed within the space between the inner cup and external cardboard, made of PLA foaming materials and processed into an insulation structure; and

an external cardboard, made of paper, integrally covered onto the periphery of the inner cup to form a protective structure.

2. The insulation paper cup as claimed in claim 1, wherein said intermediate layer is processed by means of injection molding and lamination.

3. The insulation paper cup as claimed in claim 1, wherein said external cardboard is printed with aesthetically pleasing patterns, letters and colors.