WO2007117106A1

WO2007117106A1 - Flexible cup

Info

Publication number: WO2007117106A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/001724
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tae-Hong Cheong; Sang-Gwon Moon
Original assignee: Cj Cheiljedang Corporation
Priority date: 2006-04-12
Filing date: 2007-04-10
Publication date: 2007-10-18
Also published as: KR20070101692A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a flexible cup which is capable of storing various powdery or liquid foods or retort products and includes a standing pouch provided with a sealing part (3) at a side surface thereof; a coupler (7) which is mountable on an upper opening (8) of the standing pouch (2) through inserting a support part (6) thereof; and a lid film (4) sealingly attached to a flange (5) of the coupler (7). The flexible cup of the present invention is accomplished by mounting the prescribed coupler (7) on the upper opening (8) of the conventional standing pouch (2) and adhering the lid film (4) which is capable of opening and closing thereto and improves an inconvenience of opening and a troublesomeness of usage in the conventional flexible cup.

Description

Description FLEXIBLE CUP

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a flexible cup which is capable of storing various powdery or liquid foods or retort products, and more particularly, to a flexible cup, which includes a standing pouch provided with a sealing part at a side surface thereof; a coupler which is mountable on an upper opening of the standing pouch through inserting a support part thereof; and a lid film sealingly attached to a flange of the coupler.

[2] The flexible of the present invention is accomplished by mounting the prescribed coupler on the upper opening of a conventional standing pouch and adhering the lid film which is capable of opening and closing thereto and improves an inconvenience of opening and a troublesomeness of usage in the conventional flexible cup. Background Art

[3] Recently, a usage of a cup shaped receptacle which is capable of easily opening and using has been continuously increased because all kinds of products are complicated and a product emphasizing a convenience of usage is increased as industries are developed and customer s needs are diversified.

[4] Currently used plastic receptacles are manufactured in a desired shape by an injection molding or an extrusion, or by a thermoforming in which a plastic sheet with a predetermined thickness is subject to heat and then pressed by a mold having a predetermined shape of receptacle.

[5] The receptacle made by an injection molding, an extrusion or a thermoforming is commonly difficult and takes much cost to make an elaborate multicolor printing on a surface of the receptacle, and thus, in most cases, a label is attached to the surface instead of printing.

[6] Furthermore, in most cases, the receptacle made by a general injection molding or an extrusion can be manufactured in most cases only by a single kind of material and special equipment and process are required to make a multi-layered receptacle of a plurality of materials which performs a special function to protect moisture, oxygen or light in order to prevent a deterioration of contents and thus it takes much cost.

[7] On the contrary, it is possible to make a multicolor printing on a surface of the flexible cup and it is easy to give a function of protecting moisture, oxygen or light, but there are disadvantages that it is inconvenient to open and the content thereof should be transferred to a receptacle to use. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[8] It is an object of the present invention is to provide a flexible cup having a new shape, which reduces a difficulty of printing and a risk of deterioration of content in a conventional receptacle made by an injection molding or an extrusion and improves an inconvenience of opening and a troublesomeness of usage in a conventional flexible cup by mounting a separate opening and closing means on an upper portion of the conventional standing pouch. Technical Solution

[9] To solve the above problems, a flexible cup 1 according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a standing pouch 2 provided with a sealing part 3 at a side surface thereof; a coupler 7 which is mountable on an upper opening 8 of the standing pouch 2 through inserting a support part 6 thereof; and a lid film 4 sealingly attached to a flange 5 of the coupler 7.

[10] Furthermore, a flexible cup 11 according to second aspect of the present invention includes a standing pouch 12; a coupler 16 which is mountable on an upper portion of the standing pouch 12 through inserting a support part 15 thereof; and a cap 17 coupled to a screw thread 13 formed on an exterior of an engagement part 14 of the coupler 16.

[11] In addition, a flexible cup 21 according to a third another aspect of the present invention includes a standing pouch 22, a coupler 23 which is mountable on an upper portion of the standing pouch 22, and a cap 25 provided with a connection piece 24 which is fixedly supported on the coupler 23 at a side thereof and a hooking piece 26 which is hooked and seated in a hooking groove 27 of the coupler 23 at the other side thereof.

[12] In the flexible cups 1, 11 and 21 of the present invention, the upper end portion can be conveniently opened and closed by adhering with a thin lid film 4 or by using various plastic caps 17 or 25 and is convenient to use a liquid product because it has a fixed shape, and the lower end portion has a pouch shape which is capable of making a multicolor printing and using by laminating various films (or materials such as a paper or a aluminum generally composing a laminated pouch) having a special function.

[13] In the flexible cups 1, 11 and 21 of the present invention, each of the couplers 7, 16 and 23, that is the coupler 7 provided with the flange 5 composing an upper end portion of a receptacle, the coupler 16 formed with the screw thread 13 for coupling with the cap 17, or the coupler 23 provided with the hooking groove 27 is fixedly coupled to the upper opening of the each standing pouch 2, 12 or 22 of which both sides and a bottom portion are sealed.

[14] More particularly, these are coupled by general adhering, high frequency heat sealing or ultrasonic sealing and, after filling the flexible cup 1 or 11 with contents, the lid film 4 which is capable of heat sealing is adhered on the flange 5 of the receptacle, the cap 17 is engaged to the thread which is formed instead of the flange 5, or the cap

25 is connected to the coupler 23.

Brief Description of the Drawings [15] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [16] Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a flexible cup according to a first embodiment of the present invention; [17] Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the flexible cup of Fig. 1, in which a lid film is opened;

[18] Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the flexible cup of Fig. 1;

[19] Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a flexible cup according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[20] Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a coupler of Fig. 4; and

[21] Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a flexible cup according to a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the cap is opened. [22] [Detailed description of main elements]

[23] 1, 11, 21: flexible cups

[24] 2, 12, 22: standing pouches

[25] 3: a sealing part

[26] 4: a lid film

[27] 5: a flange

[28] 6, 15: supporting parts

[29] 7, 16, 23: couplers

[30] 8: an opening

[31] 13 : a screw thread

[32] 14: an engagement part

[33] 17, 25: caps

[34] 24: connector

[35] 26: a hooking piece

[36] 27: a hooking groove

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention [37] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings. [38] Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a flexible cup 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [39] Referring to the drawing, it is known that the flexible cup 1 has a shape that a bottom surface is supported on a floor and a lid film 4 is sealingly attached on an upper portion of the standing pouch 2 provided with a sealing part 3 at a side surface.

[40] Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the flexible cup of Fig. 1, in which a lid film is opened and Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the flexible cup of Fig. 1.

[41] As shown, the flexible cup 1 includes the standing pouch 2 provided with the sealing part 3 at a side surface thereof as a body, a coupler 7 having a flange 5 and a support part 6, which is inserted and mounted on an upper opening 8 of the standing pouch 2 through inserting the support part 6, and the lid film 4 sealingly attached to the flange 5 of the coupler 7 by an adhering, etc.

[42] Therefore a user can pick out and eat the content(powder, liquid food or retort product, etc) within the cup 1 conveniently or use it in various purposes after taking off the lid film 4 attached to the upper portion of the flexible cup 1.

[43] Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a flexible cup 11 according to a second embodiment of the present invention and Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a coupler 16 of Fig. 4.

[44] The flexible cup 11 according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a standing pouch 12 as a body, the coupler 16 which is mountable on an upper portion of the standing pouch 12 through inserting a support part 15, and a cap 17 engaged with a screw thread 13 formed on an exterior of an engagement part 14 of the coupler 16.

[45] The flexible cup 11 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is different from the flexible cup 1 according to the first embodiment in that the coupler 16 and the cap 17 is engaged through the engagement part 14 having the screw thread 13 instead of the coupler 6 provided with the flange 5 attachable of the lid film 4.

[46] Meanwhile, Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a flexible cup 21 according to a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the cap is opened.

[47] The flexible cup 21 according to a third embodiment of the present invention includes a standing pouch 22 as a body, a coupler 23 mounted on an upper portion of the standing pouch 22, and a cap 25 connected to an upper side of the coupler 23.

[48] The cap 25 is provided with a hinge shaped connection piece 24 fixedly supported on the coupler 23 at a side thereof and a hooking piece 26 which is hooked and seated in a hooking groove 27 of the coupler 23 at the other side thereof.

[49] A user therefore can open the cap 25 mounted on the upper portion of the flexible cup 21 of the present invention and pick out conveniently contents contained in an inside of the pouch 21. After using, the user presses slightly the hooking piece 26 while closing the cap 25, then the hooking piece 26 is hooked and fixed to the hooking groove 27 and thus the cap 25 is safely closed.

[50] A standing pouch is exemplary described as a body of a receptacle in the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be adapted to various shapes of pouches such as a pillow type, a gazette type or a three-sided seal type and such variations and modifications would be within the spirit and scope of the invention.

[51] According to the present invention, various powdery or liquid products or retort products can be conveniently stored and used by using various shape of pouch including a standing pouch composed of a single layered or laminated film and capable of containing contents and a flange having an injection molded (or thermoformed or blow formed) ring shape and acting as an opening. Industrial Applicability

[52] The flexible cup according to the present invention has advantages as follows:

[53] First, a pouch which acts as a body containing contents is composed of a laminated film and thus various functions such as UV protection, permeation and prevention of oxygen and moisture can be realized in low cost, and it is possible to make an elaborate printing on a surface and thus superior displaying effect and design can be obtained unlike other receptacles in which it is difficult to make a elaborate printing directly on a surface of the body of the receptacle.

[54] Second, it is possible that a body portion composed of a thin film is easily crushed after using and thus the volume is reduced when thrown away.

[55] Third, a flange which is coupled to a pouch can be variously used and thus various shape of cap structures such as a lid film using an adhering, a cap having a screw thread and a hinged cap, etc. can be realized, and a structure of a pouch which is coupled to a lower end portion also can use every structure of currently used pouch and thus can be used in various usages.

[56] Fourth, probability of damage due to an impact is low because the pouch at a lower end portion is flexible and thus can easily absorb the impact unlike other receptacles having a solid structure.

[57] While the embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications of the embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims shall be construed to include both the above embodiments and all such variations and modifications that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

[1] A flexible cup, comprising: a standing pouch provided with a sealing part 3 at a side surface thereof; a coupler 7 which is mountable on an upper opening 8 of the standing pouch 2 through inserting a support part 6 thereof; and a lid film 4 sealingly attached to a flange 5 of the coupler 7. [2] A flexible cup, comprising: a standing pouch 12; a coupler 16 which is mountable on an upper portion of the standing pouch 12 through inserting a support part 15 thereof; and a cap 17 coupled to a screw thread 13 formed on an exterior of an engagement part 14 of the coupler 16. [3] A flexible cup, comprising: a standing pouch 22; a coupler 23 which is mountable on an upper portion of the standing pouch 22; and a cap 25 provided with a connection piece 24 which is fixedly supported on the coupler 23 at a side thereof and a hooking piece 26 which is hooked and seated in a hooking groove 27 of the coupler 23 at the other side thereof. [4] The flexible cup according to one of claim 1 to claim 3, wherein a pillow type, gadget type or three-sided seal type pouch is used instead of the standing type pouch 2, 12, 22.