WO2012077905A1

WO2012077905A1 - Insulated container

Info

Publication number: WO2012077905A1
Application number: PCT/KR2011/007729
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gu Hoan Cha; Ki Min Rhyu; Eun Jin Park; Leonard Y. Chung
Original assignee: Cj Cheiljedang Corporation
Priority date: 2010-12-06
Filing date: 2011-10-18
Publication date: 2012-06-14
Also published as: KR20120004246U; KR200461694Y1

Abstract

An insulated container includes a body, a flange and a holding part. The body has an opening through which contents provided from an outside is contained in the body. The flange is extended from the body so as to surround the circumference of the opening. The holding part is coupled to a lower part of the flange while being spaced apart from an edge part of the flange, and is extended toward a bottom part of the body while being spaced apart from the body.

Description

INSULATED CONTAINER

An aspect of the present invention relates to an insulated container having an insulating function, and more particularly, to an insulated container capable of reducing manufacturing cost, being stably cut off by a user and being stably inserted into a supporter such as a cup holder.

In general, an insulated container prevents heat of contents contained in the inside thereof from being directly transferred to a user. To this end, there are used methods of fixing a separate handle or holder to an insulated container, changing the foaming property of a material of the insulated container and increasing the thickness of the insulated container. However, it may not be easy to reduce manufacturing cost of the insulated container using these methods.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an insulated container capable of reducing manufacturing cost, being stably cut off by a user and being stably inserted into a supporter such as a cup holder.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an insulated container includes a body, a flange and a holding part.

The body has an opening and contains contents through the opening. The flange is extended from the body so as to surround a circumference of the opening. The holding part is coupled to a lower part of the flange while being spaced apart from an edge part of the flange, and is extended toward a bottom part of the body while being spaced apart from the body.

When being viewed from a side of the insulated container, a stopping part is formed at the lower part of the flange by a step difference between the edge part of the flange and the holding part.

As described above, according to the present invention, a user does not cut off a body of the insulated container but cuts off a holding part, so that the user can easily cut off the insulated container regardless of the temperature of contents contained in the inside of the body. Further, a stopping part is formed at a lower part of a flange, so that the insulated container can be stably cut off by the user or can be stably inserted into a supporter such as a cup holder.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insulated container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the insulated container shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is another side view of the insulated container shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the insulated container shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side view of an insulated container according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an insulated container according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the insulated container shown in FIG. 6.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments but may be implemented into different forms. These embodiments are provided only for illustrative purposes and for full understanding of the scope of the present invention by those skilled in the art. Throughout the drawings, like elements are designated by like reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insulated container according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the insulated container shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is another side view of the insulated container shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the insulated container shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the insulated container 100 includes a body 10, a flange 20, a first holding part 30, a second holding part 40 and a cover part 50.

The body 10 has an opening 12 formed so that contents provided from the outside is contained in the body 10 through the opening 12. In this embodiment, like a general paper cup, the body 10 may have a taper shape in which the width of the body 10 is smaller as closer to a bottom part 11 from the flange 20 when being viewed from a side of the insulated container 100.

The flange 20 is extended from the body 10 to surround the circumference of the opening 12. The flange 20 includes an upper part 21, a lower part 22 and an edge part 23, and the surface of each of the upper and

lower parts

21 and 22 of the flange 20 is parallel to a first direction D1. When assuming that the bottom part 11 has a flat shape, the surface of each of the upper and

lower parts

21 and 22 of the flange 20 is parallel to that of the bottom part 11.

In a case where the upper part 21 of the flange 21 is parallel to the first direction D1 as described above, the cover part 50 that may have a film shape can be easily coupled to the upper part 21 of the flange 20.

In the insulated container 100, the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 are parts cut off by a user. The structures of the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 will be described in detail as follows. The first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 are coupled to the lower part 22 of the flange 20 so as to have a shape extended toward the bottom part 11. The first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 are spaced apart from the body 10. The first holding part 30 is spaced apart from the body 10 by a first distance L1, and the second holding part 40 is spaced apart from the body by a second distance L2. In this embodiment, each of the first and second distances L1 and L2 may be 1 to 10mm.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, each of the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 is extended in a second direction D2 vertical to the first direction D1. Thus, since the body 10 has a taper shape as described above, a part of each of the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40, adjacent to the bottom part 11, is more distant from the body 10 than that of each of the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40, adjacent to the lower part 22 of the flange 20.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 may be opposite to each other with the body 10 interposed therebetween. However, unlike the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the positions of the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 may be changed, or a larger number of holding parts, as well as the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40, may be provided to the insulated container 100, depending on factors such as the size of the body 10.

In the insulated container 100 having the aforementioned structure, when heated contents are contained in the body 10, the user does not hold the body 10 but may hold the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40. Thus, it is possible to prevent the heat of the contents from being transferred to the user through the body 10. For example, when heated water is contained in the body 10, minimum 90% or more of the heat of the heated water may be transferred to the body 10, but only 50% or less of the heat of the heated water is transferred to the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 having the aforementioned structure, so that it is possible to easily hold the insulated container 100 through the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40.

Meanwhile, the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 are coupled to the flange 20, and each of the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 is coupled to the lower part 22 of the flange 20 while being spaced apart from the edge part 23 of the flange 20. That is, the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 are extended from the edge part 23 of the flange 20 but extended from the lower part 22 of the flange 20 so as to be spaced apart from the edge part 23 of the flange 20. Accordingly, when being viewed from a side of the insulated container 100, a step difference is generated as large as a third distance L3 between the edge part 23 of the flange 20 and the first holding part 30, and therefore, a stopping part 15 may be formed at the lower part 22 of the flange 20. Similarly, when being viewed from a side of the insulated container 100, a step difference is generated as large as a spacing distance between the edge part 23 of the flange 20 and the second holding part 40, and therefore, a stopping part 15 may be formed at the lower part 22 of the flange 20.

Since the edge part 23 of the flange 20 has a shape protruded in the first direction D1 from the body 10 even at the position at which the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 are not formed, the stopping part 15 can be formed at the lower part 22 of the flange 20. Thus, when the insulated container 100 is inserted into a supporter such as a cup holder (not shown), the insulated container 100 can be easily inserted into the cup holder by the stopping part 15. Further, the insulated container 100 is not easily separated from the cup holder by the stopping part 15.

Meanwhile, each of the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 is preferably extended toward the bottom part 11 from the lower part 22 of the flange 20 up to 1/3 to 2/3 of the height H1 of the body 10. For example, when the height H1 of the body 10 is 85mm, the length L1 of each of the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 may be about 28 to 56mm.

In this embodiment, the body 10, the flange 20, the first holding part 30 and the second holding part 40 may be integrally formed. Thus, the components of the insulated container 100 except the cover part 50 may be integrally manufactured using an injection technique, so that the manufacturing cost of the insulated container 100 can be decreased.

In this embodiment, the body 10, the flange 20, the first holding part 30 and the second holding part 40 may be formed of plastic such as polypropylene, through which light is transmitted. Accordingly, the user can easily identify contents contained in the insulated container 100.

In a case where the insulated container 100 is formed of a plastic material, although the first or second holding

part

30 or 40 is bent inward by an external force 41, the first or second holding

part

30 or 40 can have an elastic force 42 acting in the opposite direction of the elastic force 42 against the external force 41. Thus, in a case where the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 are inserted into the cup holder in the state that the first and

second holding parts

30 and 40 are bent inward, the insulated container 100 can be stably inserted into the cup holder by the elastic force 42.

FIG. 5 is a side view of an insulated container according to another embodiment of the present invention. In description of FIG. 5, components identical to those described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 are designated by like reference numerals, and their detailed descriptions will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 5, the insulated container 101 includes a body 10, a flange 20, a first holding part 35, a second holding part 45 and a cover part 50.

When being viewed from a side of the insulated container 100, each of the first and second holding parts (30 and 40 of FIG. 2) shown in FIG. 2 is extended in the second direction D2 vertical to the bottom part 11. However, when being viewed from a side of the insulated container 101, the first and second holding

parts

35 and 45 shown in FIG. 5 are respectively extended in directions D3 and D4 inclined to the first and second directions D1 and D2 so as to be spaced apart from the body 10. That is, each of the first and second holding

parts

35 and 45 has a reverse taper shape in which each the first and second holding

parts

35 and 45 is positioned closer to a side of body 10 as closer to the bottom part 11 from the flange 20. Thus, the spacing distance of each of the first and second holding

parts

35 and 45 from the body 10 can be controlled within a predetermined range. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent each of the first and second holding

parts

35 and 45 from being excessively spaced apart from the body 10 beyond the predetermined range.

When being viewed from a side of the insulated container 101, each of the first and second holding

parts

35 and 45, as well as the body 10, has a taper shape, so that the insulated container 101 can be more stably inserted into the cup holder.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an insulated container according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the insulated container shown in FIG. 6. In description of FIGS. 6 and 7, components identical to those described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 are designated by like reference numerals, and their detailed descriptions will be omitted.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the insulated container 102 includes a body 10, a flange 20, a holding part 60 and a cover part 50.

Each of the insulated containers (100 of FIG. 1 and 101 of FIG. 5) described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 has two holding parts. However, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the insulated container 102 has one holding part 60. Instead of having the one holding part 60, the holding part 60 is spaced apart from the body 10 while covering 1/2 or more of the circumference of the body 10, a part of the holding part 60 is opened, so that the body 10 is partially exposed to the outside.

According to the holding part 60 having the aforementioned structure, the area of the holding part 60 to be cut off by a user is substantially increased, and a part of the holding part 60, which is not easily cut off by the user, is removed. Thus, the manufacturing cost of the insulated container 102 can be decreased, and the user can easily identify contents contained in the inside of the body 10 through the opened part of the holding part 60.

The holding part 60 has a plurality of projections 65 protruded from the surface thereof. Thus, when the user cuts off the holding part 60, it is possible to prevent a user’s hand from being slipped from the holding part 60.

While the present invention has been described in connection with certain exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, and equivalents thereof.

Claims

An insulated container comprising:

a body having an opening and containing contents through the opening;

a flange extended from the body so as to surround a circumference of the opening; and

a holding part coupled to a lower part of the flange while being spaced apart from an edge part of the flange, the holding part being extended toward a bottom part of the body while being spaced apart from the body.
The insulated container of claim 1, wherein, when being viewed from a side of the insulated container, a stopping part is formed at the lower part of the flange by a step difference between the edge part of the flange and the holding part.
The insulated container of claim 2, wherein, when being viewed from a side of the insulated container, the flange is parallel to the bottom part, and the holding part is perpendicular to the flange and has a reverse taper shape in which the holding part is positioned closer to a side of body as closer to the bottom part from the flange so as to reduce a mold spacing phenomenon.
The insulated container of claim 1, wherein the holding part comprises:

a first holding part; and

a second holding part spaced apart from the first holding part so as to be opposite to the first holding part with the body interposed therebetween.
The insulated container of claim 1, wherein the holding part comprises a plurality of projections protruded from a surface thereof.
The insulated container of claim 1, wherein the body, the flange and the holding part are integrally formed.
The insulated container of claim 1, wherein the holding part is spaced from the body at an interval of 1 to 10mm.
The insulated container of claim 1, wherein the length of the holding part extended toward the bottom part from the lower part of the flange is 1/3 to 2/3 of the height of the body.
The insulated container of claim 1, wherein the holding part covers 1/2 or more of the circumference of the body, and the holding part is partially opened so that a part of the body is exposed to the outside.
The insulated container of claim 1, wherein the holding part has an elastic force acting in the opposite direction to an external force against the external force acting toward the body.