WO2012064184A1

WO2012064184A1 - Assembly of a container and a removable handle

Info

Publication number: WO2012064184A1
Application number: PCT/NL2011/050735
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bas Westdijk; Michel Rijkaart
Original assignee: Well Water Bv
Priority date: 2010-11-12
Filing date: 2011-10-31
Publication date: 2012-05-18
Also published as: NL2005680C2

Abstract

This invention relates to an assembly comprising a container (300) for a liquid, and a removable handle, (100, 200) wherein the container comprises a closed bottom, an open top and at least one side wall an outer surface of which tapers towards said bottom, and the handle comprises a grip part (101, 201) and a clamping part (102, 202) fixed to said grip part, said clamping part comprising a passage (111) with a tapered inner surface having a minimal cross section equal to a cross section of said outer surface of said wall at a height h from said bottom of said container. By both tapering the wall of the container and the inner surface of the clamping part, the handle can be clamped around the side wall, resulting in a firm connection that can nevertheless easily be reversed using little force. Furthermore, using such an attachment method, and easy design of both the handle and the container is possible.

Description

TITLE: Assembly of a container and a removable handle. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an assembly comprising a container for a liquid, like water, beverages, etc., and a removable handle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Containers for containing a liquid exist where the containers may be supplied with removable handles or handling means.

Patent specification US 6,450,363 discloses a coffee mug with interchangeable accessories where the mug body has a groove around the upper outside surface. A replaceable handle bracket is attached to the groove in the body and a detachable handle is connected to the bracket and held in place with a clip. This provides a cumbersome way of attaching the handle to the mug body.

Patent application US 2010/0213206 discloses a detachable handle for a child's sippy cup where the detachable handle includes a ring portion that engages a lid and/or a cup portion. This provides a cumbersome way of attaching the handle to the sippy cup.

The above mentioned containers and removable handles do not provide an easy way of being secured and/or removed to each other. OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a container with a removable handle that is more easily attachable and removable than the ones of the state of the art, while still ensuring a secure operation of the container by a user.

This object is achieved by an assembly comprising a container for a liquid, and a removable handle, wherein:

- the container comprises a closed bottom, an open top and at least one side wall an outer surface of which tapers towards the bottom, - the handle comprises a grip part and a clamping part fixed to the grip part, the clamping part comprising a passage with a tapered inner surface having a minimal cross section equal to a cross section of the outer surface of the wall at a height from the bottom of the container.

By both tapering the wall of the container and the inner surface of the clamping part, the handle can be clamped around the side wall, resulting in a firm

connection that can nevertheless easily be reversed using little force. Furthermore, using such an attachment method, an easy design of both the handle and the container is possible.

In an embodiment, the tapered inner surface of the passage has a slope

corresponding to a slope of at least part of the outer wall of the container. This will result in an optimal contact between the inner surface and the container, resulting in a good contact, and good clamping force caused by friction.

In an embodiment, the outer wall of the container is substantially conical and the inner wall of the passage is substantially conical.

In an embodiment the handle comprises wood, and is preferable completely made of wood. This is a durable material and also very pleasant to touch and look at. In a preferred embodiment, the wood is bamboo. This material is very sustainable material.

In an embodiment the container comprises a biodegradable material, such as polylactic acid (PLA). Providing a container that is disposable and bio-degradable gives the advantage that it simply can be discarded after use, which saves time and costs for cleaning and also reduces the environmental impact if cleaning by a dish-washer as this uses a lot of water, electricity and produces some waste byproducts in the water. As the container itself is also biodegradable, is has no adverse environmental impact to dispose of it after use. Providing a container made of polylactic acid (PLA) also readily provides a container that is light in weight but still sturdy enough even for containing relatively large volumes of liquid. Using this material is also not costly, so even though the container is disposable it does not come with a premium costs. In an embodiment the clamping part comprising a substantially flat bottom surface and at least part of the handle extends in a direction with a component (Z) being orthogonal to the bottom surface, wherein the passage of the base part widens in the direction of the component (Z). This handle can be set on a flat surface such as a table surface, the container can be placed in the opening of the handle, and next the handle can be lifted thereby lifting the container as soon as the opening contacts the outer wall of the container. There is no need to hold both the container and the handle when connecting the two. So only one hand is needed when assembling the assembly.

In a further embodiment the grip part and/or the base part comprise a groove arranged to receive a card.

In an embodiment the clamping part is substantially O-shaped. This will result in a simple design while easily handling conical shaped containers.

In an embodiment the container is arranged to contain a volume of liquid being at least about 0.7 liter or at least about 1 .0 liter. These volumes are preferable when the container is used e.g. as a water jug.

In an embodiment the container is stackable with similar containers. This will provide an easy way of storing the containers without the need of much storing space. The invention also relates to a container for use in an assembly as described above.

The invention finally relates to a handle for use in an assembly as described above.

Especially for containers designed for container a substantial amount of liquid, it is important to have good handling capabilities and a secure engagement of the handle and the container. Such containers may e.g. be a jug, pitcher or the like and/or being able to contain a volume of liquid being at least half a liter as opposed to containers of more of a cup size. It should however be noted that the present invention is not limited to the use of jugs or pitchers, but extends to the use of cups, such as coffee cups as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the exemplary embodiments as shown in the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 schematically illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of a removable handle according to the present invention;

Figure 2 schematically illustrates a cross section of a clamping part of a handle e.g. corresponding to Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 schematically illustrates a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a removable handle according to the present invention;

Figure 4 schematically illustrates a cross section of a clamping part of a handle e.g. corresponding to Figure 2; Figure 5 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a container and removable handle according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a container and removable handle according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 7 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a handle holding a card according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 8 schematically illustrates a top view of handle according to a further embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a removable handle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Shown is a handle 100 for use with a container (not shown) for receiving a liquid, e.g. like water, a beverage, or the like.

In this particular exemplary embodiment, the handle 100 comprises a grip part 101 and a clamping part 102 wherein the grip part 101 is secured in a fixed, i.e. nonremovable, way to or integrated with the clamping part 102. The grip part 101 is adapted to be used by a user to handle the container e.g. to pour and/or transport the liquid in a safe and reliable way. In this exemplary embodiment, the grip part 101 comprises an elongated first part 103 and a second part 104 (also referred to as connection part) that together forms a general (upside down) L-shape where the first part 103 accommodates gripping by a hand of a user and the second part 104 is for connecting the first part 103 to the clamping part 102.

It is to be understood that the shape of the grip part 101 and its parts can vary. As one example, the shape of the grip part 101 can be curved e.g. in such a way that the first part 103 connects directly to the clamping part 102 (where the second part 104 as such is not present). Furthermore, the grip part 101 may be looped connected to the clamping part 102 directly or indirectly via the connection part 104.

The clamping part 102 comprises a passage 1 1 1 , i.e. opening 1 1 1 . This results in the clamping part 102 having an inner surface 105 being closest towards a center of the passage 1 1 1 , an outer surface 106 being furthest away from the center of the passage 1 1 1 . Furthermore, the clamping part has a top surface 107, and a bottom surface 108 (not visible).

The clamping part 102 is adapted to removably engage with an outer surface of a wall of the container in such a way that that the removable handle 100 is clamped. In this way, the handle and the container are attached to each other in a secure way without the need of grooves or any additional connection means and without reassembling the handle. The simple clamping of the handle 100 around the container enables a proper and normal use of the liquid container.

In this embodiment, the clamping part 102 generally has an O-or ring shape (forth only denoted O-shape). This provides a very simple design of the clamping part 102 that also may be produced easily and cheaply. It is to be understood that a (small) part of the clamping part 102 may be cut away while still providing the same purpose and advantages, i.e. the clamping part 102 need not be fully closed. In one preferred embodiment, the inner diameter is slanted inwards away from the top, i.e. the inner diameter is narrowing from the top to the bottom as shown and explained in further detail in connection with Figure 2 showing a cross section of the clamping part 102. This provides a firm engagement of the container, since the outer wall of the container also slants inwards in a similar way. The two diameters and their slanting angle are preferably made to correspond to each other in order to optimize the contact surface which increases the friction force.

The clamping part 102 is particular suited for a container 300 that is generally conically shaped tapering from the top towards the bottom, see Figure 5. The clamping part 102 has a minimal inner diameter (i.e. the minimal diameter of the inner side 105) that is greater than a diameter below a certain height level h of the container 300 but smaller than a diameter above the certain height level h of the container 300. In this way, the container 300 may simply be inserted into the O- shape and will be engaged about the certain height level giving a secure and reliable engagement while still facilitating easy removal again.

The particular shown embodiment, also has the advantage that when the container is inserted into the O-ring of the handle 100 and the handle 100 is gripped and lifted the force will push the O-ring and the handle 100 upwards thereby securing a firmer grip or engagement between the handle 100 and the container.

Adjustment of the inner diameter of the O-shape and the varying diameter of the container during manufacture also makes it easy to determine where the handle will engage the container.

As mentioned, such a removable handle 100 also provides the advantages that the container - while still being held securily when inserted into the handle 100 - easily can be removed from the handle 100. This is of particular importance, e.g. for the catering business, e.g. during cleaning up where a great number of containers and handles may be needed to be processed, i.e. separated after use.

In an embodiment, the container is a disposable container and the handle 100 is a re-usable handle 100. The re-usable handle 100 may e.g. be made of wood but can also be made from other sturdy material like plastic or others.

Figure 2 schematically illustrates a cross section of the clamping part 102 of the handle 100. As mentioned earlier, the clamping part 102 comprises an inner side 105 being closest towards a center of the clamping part 102, an outer side 106 being furthest away from the center of the clamping part 102, a top side 107, and a bottom side 108.

As can be seen, the inner side 105 is slanting inwards left on the Figure 2 from the top to the bottom, i.e. the diameter of the inner side 105 is narrowing from the top to the bottom giving the advantages as mentioned in connection with Figure 1 , especially for a similarly slanted container.

It is to be understood that the outer surface 106 of the clamping part 102 does not need to slant inwards to give the mentioned advantages but could e.g. be straight down or some other profile or shape. In fact, the clamping part 102 does not need to be ring shaped. It may have an arbitrary form as long as it contains an opening arranged to receive a tapered container. Figure 3 schematically illustrates a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a removable handle according to the present invention. Shown is a re-usable handle 200 for use with a container (not shown; see e.g. 300 in Figure 6) for receiving a consumable liquid, e.g. like water, a beverage, or the like. The removable handle 200 corresponds to the one shown and explained in connection with Figure 1 except that the inner surface 205 of the clamping part 202 is tapered in the opposite direction with reference to the grip part 203. Figure 4 shows a cross section of the clamping part 202. In Figure 4 reference number 208 indicates the bottom surface. The bottom surface 208 is a substantially flat bottom surface. This embodiment can easily be placed on a supporting surface such as a table surface while the elongated part 203 of the grip part 201 is standing up extending in a direction Z orthogonal to the surface 208, see the handle 200 in Figure 3. In this position the handle may receive a filled container which is placed on the table in the opening of the clamping part 202. At that moment the container and the handle do not engage yet. But, once a user lifts the handle, it is clamped around the container 300 at the height h where the cross sections as mentioned above are the same. A waiter might for example place a freshly filled water jug (i.e. the container) on the table, in the opening, after which a guest is able to pour the jug out by simply lifting the handle using only one hand. There is no need for the waiter, nor for the guest, to connect the handle to the container.

As shown in Figure 3, the handle 200 comprises grooves 209 which are

manufactured in the handle 200 so as to receive a card, such as a menu. In this way the handle 200 is multi functional being a card holder as well as a container handle. This can be advantageous especially in restaurants where both functions are wanted. The grooves 209 may as well be used for inserting other information or advertising card, sheets of paper or similar, e.g. describing the product, for information or promotion purposes.

It is to be understood that the groove 209 in the grip part 201 for other

embodiments may be omitted. Furthermore it is to be understood that the embodiment of Figure 1 could also be supplied with similar slits or grooves.

Figure 5 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a container and removable handle according to one embodiment of the present invention. Shown is the handle 100 of Figure 1. Further shown is a tapered container 300 arranged to contain an amount of a liquid such as water. The container 300 has a generally conical shape with a varying outer diameter that gets smaller from the top towards the bottom, i.e. it slates inwards. As mentioned, such a shape - together with the shown shape of the clamping part

102 - provides a tight and secure fit of the container 300 and the handle 100 even for relatively big volume containers while still facilitating easy removal of the handle 100 from the container 300. Especially, when the inner side of the engagement part 102 is like shown and explained in connection with Figure 3 and especially when the shape of the inner side corresponds or fits with the shape of the container 300.

Furthermore, such a shape also has the advantage that containers with this shape are stackable with each other making them easier to transport and taking up less space during transportation and/or storage. This is particular advantageous for the catering business.

Preferably, the container 300 is made of the bio-degradable material, such as polylactic acid (PLA), which is a thermoplastic biopolymer. This material is relatively cheap making it less costly to produce and therefore to use as a disposable material. Since it is bio-degradable it is also environmental friendly, even for disposable objects. PLA is a relatively light material making liquid containers made from it light and also easier and less costly to transport in bigger numbers.

At the same time, it is sturdy enough to provide a reliable container for a liquid even up to bigger volumes like at least about 0.7 or at least about 1.0 liters, i.e. containers of a jug or pitcher size.

More preferably, the container 300 is made of the bio-degradable material polylactic acid (PLA) of the type known as Ingeo 3251 D as supplied by the company NatureWorks ®, which is a biopolymer that may be used in injection molding processes. This PLA is also sturdy and durable even with a relatively small thickness of the walls forming the container. Making the container 300 out of PLA Ingeo 3251 D readily enables it to be transparent or semi-transparent. On a transparent or semi-transparent container surface damage like scratches or the like are less visible since such damage is less visible on a transparent or semi- transparent surface. This is important especially for the catering business.

Preferably, the handle is made out of a different material than the container. In order to improve the friction force between the container 200;300 and the inner surface of the clamping part, one of the material should be a softer material than the other. A good example is a bamboo handle with a PLA container, PLA being the softer material. Alternatively, the container can be made of the harder material, such as a glass container and a handle made of wood or rubber. Other

combinations are possible, as will be clear to the skilled person. Another possible combination could be a cardboard container and a plastic handle, resulting in a relatively light assembly.

In this particular embodiment, the container also comprises a spout 310 facilitating easy pouring of the liquid, which may be omitted. It is to be understood that the actual shape of the container 300 may be varied while still keeping the mentioned properties and advantages of the present invention.

In one embodiment, an end of the first part 103 of the grip part 101 ends at a level in line with the bottom of the container 300 when the handle 100 is engaged with the container 300. This may have a stabilizing effect of the container is it then also is supported by the handle when the container rests of a surface.

Figure 6 schematically illustrates a perspective view of the container 300 and the removable handle 200 of the alternative embodiment of the present invention. Shown is the handle 200 comprising a first 203 and a second part 204 where the handle 200 correspond to the one shown and explained in connection with Figure 3. Further shown is the container 300 that correspond to the container shown and explained in connection with Figure 5. In the Figure 6, the handle 200 is lifted to a height h at which moment the clamping part 202 engages the outer wall of the container 300. Preferably, the height h is at least 1 cm, and more preferably more than 2 cm, so that the container 300 is initially not clamped, but only after lifting the handle 200. Other advantageous of this embodiment were explained already with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

In this particular embodiment, the container 200 also comprises a spout 1 10 facilitating easy pouring of the liquid, which may be omitted.

It should be noted that the height h at which the handle is clamped may be chosen by design. In order to improve the visibility of the content of the container, or the information printed on the wall of the container 200;300,it is preferred to choose the height h in the ranges of 1 %-25% and 75%-99%, where 100% is the top of the container. Please note that in case the container comprises the spout 1 10, the maximum preferred height can not be above the base of the spout; unless the clamping part comprises a cavity for receiving part of the spout 1 10.

Figure 7 schematically illustrates a perspective view of the removable handle 200 of the alternative embodiment of Figure 3 in which a card 700 is inserted in the grooves 209, not visible in Figure 7. In this embodiment, the handle 200 can function as a card holder and as a container handle, such as a water jug handle. This multi functioning may be a very appealing way to promote a liquid in e.g. a restaurant or shop.

Figure 8 schematically shows a top view of a removable handle 800 of the alternative embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the cross section of the clamping part of the handle has a triangular shape resulting in three partitions 801 , 802, 803. The grip part 805 is connected to the triangular by means of a connection part 804. This embodiment is suited to clamp around a tapered container having a triangular cross section. As will be clear to the skilled person, many other cross sections are conceivable. Alternatives may include, but are not limited to oval shapes, star shapes, orthogonal shapes, etc.

In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be constructed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim. The word "a" or

"an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.

The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the various embodiments of the invention as disclosed can be combined without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims:

1 . An assembly comprising a container (300) for a liquid, and a removable handle (100; 200), wherein:

- said container (300) comprises a closed bottom, an open top and at least one side wall an outer surface of which tapers towards said bottom,

- said handle (100; 200) comprises a grip part (101 ; 201 ) and a clamping part (102; 202) fixed to said grip part, said clamping part comprising a passage (1 1 1 ) with a tapered inner surface having a minimal cross section equal to a cross section of said outer surface of said wall at a certain height (h) from said bottom of said container.

2. Assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said tapered inner surface of said passage has a slope corresponding to a slope of at least part of said outer wall of said container (300).

3. Assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said outer wall of said container is substantially conical and said inner wall of said passage is substantially conical.

4. Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said handle comprises wood.

5. Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said container comprises a biodegradable material, such as polylactic acid (PLA).

6. Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said clamping part comprising a substantially flat bottom surface (208) and at least part of said handle (200) extends in a direction with a component (Z) being orthogonal to said bottom surface (208), wherein said passage of said base part (202) widens in the direction of said component (Z).

7. Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said grip part (101 ) and/or said base part (102) comprise a groove (104,109) arranged to receive a card.

8. Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the clamping part (102) is substantially O-shaped.

9. Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the container (300) is arranged to contain a volume of liquid being at least about 0.7 liter or at least about 1.0 liter.

10. Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said container (300) is stackable with similar containers.

1 1. A container (300) for use in an assembly according to any of the preceding claims.

12. A handle (100; 200) for use in an assembly according to any of the claims 1 - 10.