WO2009133211A1

WO2009133211A1 - Disposable cup with a small rotary spoon

Info

Publication number: WO2009133211A1
Application number: PCT/ES2008/000292
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alejandro Parias Cruz
Original assignee: Spooncup, S.L.
Priority date: 2008-04-29
Filing date: 2008-04-29
Publication date: 2009-11-05
Also published as: EP2272403A4; EP2272403A1

Abstract

A disposable cup with a small rotary spoon, comprising a container (1), a spoon (2) and a lid (3) that can be fitted onto the container (1) and which has a circular hole (4) through which the spoon (2) passes and for pouring in additives. The spoon (2) has a first, horizontal segment (20), a second, vertical segment (5) and a third segment (21) tilted to form an angle a with the second, vertical segment (5), the end part (6) projecting and operating as a crank. The spoon has an upper circular segment (7) with a diameter D_SUP that is greater than the diameter D_TAP of the circular hole (4) in the lid and a lower circular segment (8) with a diameter D_INF that is smaller than D_SUP and slightly greater than the diameter D_TAP of the hole (4) in order to allow the press-fitting of the edge of the circular hole (4) in the lid together with an intermediate groove (9) of the spoon, allowing the spoon (2) to rotate without same emerging once fitted together with the lid (3).

Description

DISPOSABLE GLASS WITH ROTATING SPOON

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a disposable cup for drinking hot or cold drinks, such as coffee and slushies that serve in different hospitality establishments, and which has on one side a drinking fountain to tqmar the drink and on the other a hole to pour the sugar or other additives and introduce a spoon to stir the contents of the glass and thus favor the dissolution of the additives. It is also contemplated, in the case of very cold drinks, such as slushies, that the spoon has a hole for the straw.

Background of the invention

Currently they can be found in innumerable establishments in the hospitality sector, especially in those that serve both cold and hot drinks to carry, such as coffee, disposable cups composed of four separate pieces: container, lid, spoon and cover to cover the container, in case the drink is supplied very hot.

In most of said glasses only the container, the lid and the cover are attachable with each other, the spoon being independent of the rest of the pieces. This has numerous drawbacks, since once the liquid has been served in the container and the lid attached, it is necessary to lift it again in order to remove the contents or pour any new substance into the container.

The international patent application PCT / ES2006 / 000350 partially solves the above problem, by allowing the contents of the vessel to be removed once served, since it has a spoon that can be coupled with the lid that allows the rotation and agitation of the liquid without the need to lift the front. However, it does not solve the problem of pouring a new substance or additive, for example adding sugar or more milk, without the need to lift the lid.

The present invention solves the problem posed as it allows, once the contents have been served and the lid is coupled with the container, add extras or additives (sugar, milk, etc.), stir the contents of the glass and drink the contents through a drinker practiced in the cover, all without lifting the cover. For this, the cover has a central opening through from which the additives are poured and a spoon with a special configuration that allows the coupling with the lid, the rotation of it with crank functions to stir the contents, and the closing of said central opening so that the loss is minimized of heat and / or cold, depending on whether it is a hot or cold drink, and the liquid is prevented from spilling through it in case of accidental tipping of the glass. In addition, in the case of very cold drinks, such as slushies, the spoon has a hole to introduce the straw. The spoon can be put on or removed as many times as you want to pour more additives.

Description of the invention

The invention relates to a disposable cup with rotating spoon according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

The disposable cup with rotary spoon comprises a container, a spoon and a lid that can be coupled with the container and with a hole for the passage of the spoon; The spoon disposing near one of its ends of a first horizontal section, a second vertical section that passes through the hole of the cover and a third section inclined with respect to the vertical and forming an angle a with the second vertical section, protruding The extreme part with crank functions. The hole of the cover is circular and is configured to allow the pouring of additives, said hole being substantially centered on the cover. The spoon has in the upper part of the second vertical section of:

- an upper circular section, perpendicular to the second vertical section, with a diameter D _SUP greater than the diameter D _TAP of the circular hole of the cover; and - a lower circular section, parallel to the upper circular section and located below it and with a diameter D _INF less than D _S U _P> said diameter being D | _NF slightly greater than the diameter D _TAP of the circular hole of the cover to allow the pressure, by means of the edge of the circular hole of the cover with an intermediate groove of the spoon located between both upper and lower circular sections thereof, allowing the turning the spoon without leaving it once fitted with the lid.

The spoon preferably has at the end of the section that is introduced into the container of a widening with a shovel shape. The spoon may have a plurality of holes made along the section that is introduced into the container.

The cover can preferably have either an opening or a nozzle located near its periphery with drinking functions. The upper end of the cover preferably has a raised edge with respect to the surface thereof. In this case, the opening with drinking functions can be located on the raised edge of the cover.

The hole of the cover is preferably elevated with respect to the surface thereof. The third section inclined with respect to the vertical can form an angle of 90 ° with respect to the second vertical section, or a smaller but sufficient angle to allow the content to be removed.

The lid can be domed, in the case of cold drinks such as slushies. The spoon can in turn have a hole for the passage of a straw, said hole being concentric to the lower circular section.

Brief description of the drawings

For a better understanding of the invention, the following will briefly describe an embodiment of the invention, as an illustrative and non-limiting example thereof. For this, reference is made to the attached drawings, in which:

Figures 1A and 1 B show a cross section of the container and lid of the disposable cup object of the invention, together with the rotating spoon, for two embodiments of the spoons.

Figures 2A and 2B show the disposable cup with all its elements mounted, the second being a plan view.

Figure 3 shows in detail the adjustment of the spoon with the lid, the latter in cross section to appreciate in more detail the coupling. Figures 4A and 4B show schematically and in cross-section the spoon-lid coupling process.

Figure 5 schematically represents a particular embodiment of the vessel object of the invention, where the spoon has holes to facilitate rotation. - TO -

Figure 6 shows, in cross section, another embodiment of the invention, in this case especially suitable for very cold drinks such as slush or even ice cream.

Figure 7 shows the disposable cup of Figure 6 with its assembled elements.

Detailed description of the invention

In Figures 1A and 1B the elements that make up the disposable cup can be seen in a preferred embodiment of the invention: a container 1, a spoon 2 and a lid 3, made of preferably disposable material. In this case, it is a glass with a flat lid, suitable for drinks such as coffee with milk, whether hot or cold.

In said particular embodiment of the invention, the lid 3 is coupled in the usual way to the container 1. The lid 3 has a central opening or hole 4 circular with diameter D _TAP and with several functions: so that the spoon can pass 2 and so that the sugar and other additives can be poured into the contents, normally liquid, into the container 1, once the container 1 has been filled with the corresponding beverage and the lid 3 has been attached thereto. In turn, the lid 3 has a hole or opening 13 at its upper end where the user can drink the liquid content once the lid 3 and the spoon 2 are attached. Instead of a hole, a nozzle can also be used with the same drinking functions, although in this case it would stand out in height with respect to the cover 3.

The spoon disposes near one of its ends a first horizontal section 20, a second vertical section 5 that passes through the hole 4 of the cover 3 and a third section 21 inclined with respect to the vertical and forming an angle σ, a An angle such that the contents can be removed, with the second vertical section 5, the end portion 6 with crank functions being prominent. In Figure 1A the angle a is approximately 90 °, forming the first section 20, the second vertical section 5 and the third inclined section 21 a C-shaped folds. In Figure 1B ₁ the angle is approximately 45 °, also achieving The crank effect. The spoon 2 is introduced through the hole 4 of the cover 3. To this end, the spoon will have to be tilted when the C-shaped fold part is being introduced, in the case of Figure 1A, located at one end of the section 12 which is introduced into the container 1. At the other end of the section 12 which is introduced into the container 1 the spoon has a spade 10 in the form of a shovel. In the upper part of the second vertical section 5 of the C-shaped bends, the spoon 2 has an upper circular section 7, perpendicular to the second vertical section 5, with a diameter D _S U _P (shown in Figure 2B) greater than diameter D _TAP of the circular hole 4 of the cover. Once the spoon 2 is coupled to the lid 3, and this in turn coupled to the container 1, as shown in Figures 2A and 2B (the latter a plan view of the vessel), said upper circular section 7 will remain as closure of the circular hole 4 of the lid 3, avoiding that the beverage can be poured when the glass tilts or the heat of the beverage can be lost. Since the spoon 2 is coupled to the fixing device of the lid 3, it can rotate 360 ° in both directions by completely removing the liquid from the container. The end part 6 of the spoon 2 protrudes with crank functions to allow the rotation of the spoon 2.

The upper end of the cover 3 has a raised edge 15 with respect to the surface thereof, where the drinking fountain is preferably located, either opening 13 or nozzle. Said edge 15 will be at a height slightly greater than the spoon 2, the end 6 protruding to easily allow the rotation of the spoon 2.

Figure 3 shows in detail the coupling of the spoon 2 with the lid 3. The spoon has, in the upper part of the second vertical section 5 of the C-shaped bends, a lower circular section 8, located below and in parallel to the upper circular section 7 and with a diameter D | _NF smaller than the diameter D _SUP of said upper circular section 7. The diameter D | _NF of the lower circular section 8 is slightly larger than the diameter D _TAP of the circular hole 4 of the lid 3, so that being of a disposable material, the lower circular section 8 can be introduced by pressure into the container, the circular section remaining upper 7 above the cover 3 and the edge of the circular hole 4 of the cover fitted with an intermediate groove 9 of the spoon 2, said groove being left located between both upper and lower circular sections 8, thus allowing the rotation of the spoon 2 without leaving the cover. Figures 4A and 4B show the detail of the spoon-cover coupling, where it can be seen that the edge of the hole 4, raised with respect to the cover, is practically horizontal once the pressure with the spoon 2 has been exerted and the lower circular section 8 introduced In the container.

Figure 5 shows schematically another particular embodiment of the invention, where the spoon 2 has holes 11 made in the section that is introduced into the container to facilitate the rotation of the spoon and avoid the resistance of rotation caused by the liquid contained In the container.

The present invention can also be applied for cold and slush drinks. In this case, it can be used, as shown in Figure 6, a vault-shaped lid, with a central hole 24 therein for the introduction of the spoon-straw. In this case, as seen in the figure, the second vertical section 5 does not start from the center of the lower circular section (8), as is the case with the different embodiments of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 5, but rather part of one of its ends, thus allowing the passage of a straw, to sip the contents of the glass, through the hole (24) made in the center of said lower circular section (8). This is also applicable for the flat lid glass of Figures 1 A and 1 B.

Claims

1- Disposable cup with rotating spoon, comprising a container (1), a spoon (2) and a lid (3) attachable with the container (1) and with hole (4) for the passage of the spoon (2); Ia spoon (2) disposing near one of its ends of a first horizontal section (20), a second vertical section (5) that passes through the hole (4) of the cover (3) and a third section (21) inclined with respect to the vertical and forming an angle a with the second vertical section (5), the end part (6) projecting with crank functions, characterized in that the hole (4) of the cover (3) is circular and is configured to allow the pouring of additives, said hole (4) being substantially centered on the cover (3), and because the spoon (2) has on the upper part of the second vertical section (5) of:

- an upper circular section (7), perpendicular to the second vertical section (5), with a diameter D _S U _P greater than the diameter D _TAP of the circular hole (4) of the cover; Y

- a lower circular section (8), parallel to the upper circular section (7) and located below it and with a diameter D _{! NF} smaller than D _SU P. said diameter D | _NF slightly larger than the diameter D _TAP of the circular hole (4) of the lid (3) to allow the pressure, by means of the edge of the circular hole (4) of the lid to be fitted with an intermediate groove (9) of the spoon located between both upper (7) and lower (8) circular sections thereof, allowing the rotation of the spoon (2) without leaving it once fitted with the cover (3).

2- Disposable cup with rotating spoon according to claim 1, characterized in that the spoon (2) has at the end of the section (12) that is introduced into the container (1) of a blade-shaped extension (10).

3- Disposable cup with rotary spoon according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spoon (2) has a plurality of holes (11) made along the section (12) that is introduced into the container (1). 4- Disposable cup with rotary spoon according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that the lid (3) has an opening (13) located near its periphery with drinking functions.

5- Disposable cup with rotary spoon according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that the cover (3) has a nozzle located near its periphery with drinking functions.

6- Disposable cup with rotating spoon according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper end of the lid (3) has a raised edge (15) with respect to the surface thereof.

7- Disposable cup with rotating spoon according to claims 4 and 6, characterized in that the opening (13) with drinking functions is located on the raised edge (15) of the lid (3).

8- Disposable cup with rotary spoon according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hole (4) of the lid (3) is raised with respect to the surface thereof.

9- Disposable cup with rotary spoon according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the third section (21) inclined with respect to the vertical forms an angle of 90 ° with respect to the second vertical section (5).

10- Disposable cup with rotary spoon according to any of claims 1-5, characterized in that the lid (3) is domed.

11- Disposable cup with rotary spoon according to any of claims 1-10, characterized in that the spoon has a hole (24) for the passage of a straw, said hole (24) being practiced concentric to the lower circular section (8).