Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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. 1
A CUP HOLDER WHICH CAN RECEIVE AND SECURE
CUPS OF VARIOUS SIZES
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cup holder which can accommodate cups of various sizes,
5 primarily paper cups.
Background of the Invention
Disposable paper-based cups are used in the food industry, primarily fast food
industry, to serve both hot and cold drinks, such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, juices
or sodas. Heat transfer is a probleri~ The side wall of a cup can become very hot or
10 very cold depending on the nature of the beverage contained therein. Either situation
can render it difficult, if not impossible, for a person to handle the cup. Tkel~,ro
there is a need for a cup holder which overcomes this problem.
Paper cups are predomin~ntly frusto-conical in shape but other cup shapes, such as
cylindrical shaped cups, are available. A number of dirre~ paper cup m~king
15 machines, such as those m~nllfactured by Paper Machine Corporation, are suitable for
making the paper cups ~ ly used by the industry.
Furthermore, it should be recognized that paper cups come in a variety of standard
sizes, such as small, medium, regular, large or extra-large. Other sizes may be
available depending upon the cup manufacturer. As it is undesirable to carry around
20 more than one cup holder, there is a need for a cup holder which can recieve and
secure more than one size of cup.
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In the past, attempts were made to encourage the use of re-usable plastic cups which
may or may not have fit into a car cup-holder. Although these cups may not have had
the same heat transfer problems of paper cups, different sizes of plastic cups were
required for different size drinks. Furthermore the cups needed to be cleaned between
5 uses to m~int~in their sanitary condition.
Plastic holders are available for milk cartons and the like, as shown in C~n~ n
Industrial Design Registration no. 48719 to Sun-Rype Products Ltd. dated September
28, 1981. But this design cannot and does not suggest a cup holder, or provide for a
cup holder which can securely hold cups of various sizes.
Similar limitations are inherent in C~n~ n Industrial Design # 31496 dated July 7,
1969 and C~n~ n Industrial Design # 33871 dated May 3, 1971, both for a "TumblerHolder" and both to James A. Jobling & Company Limited.
C~n~ n Patent Application 2,168,801, entitled "Cup Holder" to Da Costa, F. et al.,
filed February 5, 1996 describes a cup holder for holding disposable paper coffee cups,
15 comprising an annular ring element having an irmer surface of conical shape for
receiving and securing a cup and a handle attached thereto. The diameter of the inner
surface of the annular ring element decreases in diameter from the upper ~;XI~ llily to
the lower extremity. The cup holder also has dental protusions extending in the
longihl~lin~l direction from the lower extremity of the annular ring element which
20 allows the placement of the cup into a cup holder of a vehicle. This cup holder is not
designed to receive a number of dirrerellL cup sizes. Furthermore the protusions are
prone to breakage.
Other cup holders exist which have limited ability to accomodate more than one size
cup, by having an internal spring element positioned on the intPrn~l surface of the
25 sidewall of the cup holder to secure the cup in position. But this holder is difficult to
manufacture and the spring has a tendency to break.
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Therefore there is a need for a reusable cup holder which can be used to retain cups of
various sizes, particulary paper cups as commonly used in the fast food industry, and
which can overcome the above-noted problems.
Summary of the Invention
5 This invention relates to a reusable cup holder which can accommodate cups of
various sizes, and which preferably has a handle which protects the carrier's hand
from the temperature of the cup's contents. The reusable cup holder is preferably
made of a plastic or plastic-like material.
In general, this invention relates to a reusable cup holder comprising a side wall with
10 an outer and an inner surface. The inner surface of the side wall has an int~rn~
perimeter, height and a slope or is positioned at an angle, suitable to receive a cup and
to enable the cup to be held in position in the cup holder.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cup holder has a top and a bottom
end, the inner surface having at least one intçrn~l step, most preferably a series of
15 steps, each step having a base and a riser, the base having a width and the riser being
at an angle suitable to receive and secure a cup in the holder, the cup being held in
place by friction between the inner surface or riser of the cup holder and the sidewall
of the cup to be held, the cup holder being able to receive and secure more than one
size of cup. The cup holder can be designed to receive and secure any size or series
20 of sizes of cup, for exarnple any of small, medium, regular, large and extra-large cups,
preferably frusto-conical paper cups.
The term "series of sizes of cup" refers to the range of cups for which the cup holder
is designed to receive and secure.
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Preferably the side wall and the angle of the riser is the same as that of the sidewall of
the cup to be received. In the most plcrcllcd embodiment both the cup and the cup
holder are frusto-conical.
In another embodiment the cup holder of the invention has an internal aperture for
5 receiving the cup and a top step and a bottom step, wherein the intçrn~l aperture of the
cup holder decreases in size from the highest to the lowest step and the width of the
base of the steps increases from the highest to the lowest step.
For cups having a smaller circu,llrerence, the cup holder has a base and a top end,
wherein the cup is secured in the holder by the bottom most riser, the cup having a
10 base which extends below the riser but not below the base of the cup holder.
In another embodiment of the invention the cup holder preferably extends outwardly
from the sidewall of the cup holder and is made of a sufficiently rigid m~t~ri~l and
positioned so that it does not bend inwardly towards the side wall of the cup holder
15 when held.
Preferably, the cup holder of the invention can fit into a standard size vehicle cup
holder.
Brief I)e~ lion of the Drawings
In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention and wherein like features
20 are numbered alike,
Figure 1: is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the cup holder of the
invention,
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Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken at line 2-2 of Figure 1, in the direction of the
arrows;
Figures 2A-2G is a cross-sectional view of Figure 2 illustrating the position of various
size cups in the holder.
S Figure 3A is a plan view of the cup holder of Figures 1 or 6A;
Figures 3B - 3D are plan views of ~ltçrn~tive arrangements of the internal steps of the
cup holder of Figures 1 or 6A;
Figure 4 is a frontal view of the cup holder of Figure l;
Figure 5 is a rear view of the cup holder of Figure l;
10 Figures 6A, 6B, and 6C are side views of other embodiments of the cup holder of the
mventlon;
Figure 7 is an exploded view of the internal stepped section of Figure 2.
Detailed Description of the Invention
The invention can be best be understood by reference to the drawings.
15 Figure 1 is a side view of the most preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Cup holder 100 has a frusto-conical sidewall 200 having a bottom end or base 210 and
a top end 230. The cup holder 100 has a front 110 and a rear 120 portion. The top
end 230 of the cup holder 100 slopes outwardly and downwardly from the rear of the
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top end 240 of the cup holder 100 to the front of the top end 245 of the cup holder
100 through the centre top edge sections 241 and 242. This can best be seen in
Figure 4 which is a frontal view of the cup holder 100. This particular design is
preferred as it enables one to see labeling or other written or design matter on the
outer surface of a paper cup [not shown] when the cup is positioned in the holder 100.
In another preferred embodiment, the cup holder 100 has a handle 400 ext~nding from
the top end 230, preferably from the rear of the top end 240. The handle 400 is
connected to the top end 230 via a bridge 410 and preferably has an intçrn~l groove
450 as shown in Figures 3A and 5, to facilitate gripping the handle and positioning of
one's thumb. The groove 450 can be of various dçsign~, for instance it can extend
from the top surface of the bridge 410 down the outer surface of the handle 400 to the
bottom of the handle 400a. Alternatively, it can extend from the top of the handle
400b to the bottom of the handle 400a.[Not shown]
Preferably the handle 400 and bridge 410 are made of sufficiently rigid material and
are positioned to enable the cup holder 100 to be held by the handle 400 without the
handle 400 bending in towards the sidewall 200. This structure prevents a holder's
fingers from getting pinched between the handle 400 and the side wall 200. Preferably
the handle extends outwardly and downwardly from the bridge 410, most preferably at
an angle of about S degrees from a vert;cal plane 10.
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the holder 100 of Figure 1 taken at lines 2-2 in
the direction of the arrows. As shown, the sidewall 200 has an outer surface 201 and
an inner surface 202. The inner surface 202 is stepped, the steps 600-603 being
continuous around the inner perimeter of the inner surface 202 of side wall 200 as can
be seen in Figure 3A.
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Referring back to Figure 2, each of the steps 600, 601, 602, and 603 have a riser 600a,
601a, 602a, 603a and have bases 600b, 601b, 602b, 603b. The portion of the innersurface of the side wall 200 between base 603b and top edge 230 can be known as
riser 604a. The circumference of the internal aperture 150 decreasing in size from the
top or highest step 604 to the bottom or lowest step 600 as can also be seen in Figure
3 and Figure 7. This is primarily a function of the increasing width of the bases 600b,
601b, 602b, 603b, from the upper most step 603 to the lowest 600.
The above described arrangement of steps enables the cup holder 100 to receive avariety of size of frusto-conical cups 700 [ as shown in Figures 2A to 2G], preferably
hot drink paper cups.
To best secure the cup in a cup holder, the angle of the risers 600a to 604a preferably
corresponds to the angle of the sidewalls 710 of cup 700 which is to be received and
are most commonly at an angle of about 0-5 degrees from the vertical 10, cup sizes
varying in the cir~ lferellce of the base 720 of the cup 700. A person skilled in the
art upon reading this specification would be f~mili~r with the range of angles which
would be suitable for the structure of the cup holder. Larger cups, as shown in
Figure 2A may be secured in the holder 100 by friction between the inner side wall
202 or riser 604a against the side wall 710 of the cup 700.
With other cup si~s, as in Figures 2B, 2C, 2E and 2F, the cup is secured in the holder
100 by the friction between the respective riser 600a, 601a, 602a, 603a, or 604arespectively, against the side wall 710 of the cup 700. The base of the steps 600b,
601b, 602b, or 603b respectively, are not necessary to secure the position of the cup in
the holder. There main function is to be of a sufficient width to create the size and
angle of riser 600a - 604a necessary to secure the cup by friction when positioned in
the cup holder 100. Most preferably an empty cup will remain in position in the cup
holder even when it is inverted.
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As shown in Figure 2G cups with smaller base circumferences will extend through the
lower aperture 155 formed by riser 600a, and are secured in the holder 100 by the
friction between riser 600a and sidewall 710. The step 600 being positioned on the
sidewall 200 and being of a size to prevent the base 720 of the smaller circumference
cups from extending past the base 210 of the cup holder 100.
The position and size of the steps 600-604 in the internal side wall 202, and the height
of the side wall 200 is such as to ensure that the cups are sufficiently supported by the
holder 100.
Preferably the base 210 of the cup holder 100 is sized and shaped to be able to fit into
a cup holder of a vehicle.
In the most preferred and specific embodiment of the invention as described in
reference to Figures 2 and 7, the cup holder 100 is desi~;ne~l to receive the standard
series of cup sizes used by a particular fast food chain outlet. Most commonly the
angle of the side wall of the cup holder will be from about 0 to 5 degrees from a
vertical 10. In this embodiment the cup holder 100 has four internal steps and thereby
accommodates small, medium, large and extra-large cups, for example, 8, 10, 16 and
20 oz sizes respectively. The height of the cup holder is about 4.5 inches at its rear
120 and 2.75 inches at its front portion 110. The bridge 410 being about an inch long
and the handle being about 2.5 inches. The riser 600a is about 0.060 inches and is at
a 0 degree angle, the riser 601a is about 0.15 inches and is at an angle of 5 degrees
from vertical 10, the riser 602a is about 0.130 inches and is at an angle of 5 degrees
from vertical, and the riser 603a is about 0.1 inches and at an angle of about 5 degrees
from vertical 10. The aperture 150 of the cup 100 decreases from about 2.518 inches
at riser 603a to 2.139 inches at riser 600a. The invention is by no means intended to
be limited by these dimensions and are provided for example only.
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Having described the invention in some detail, it would be apparent to a person skilled
in the art that a number of variations can be made which would not depart from the
spirit of the invention and are intended to be included within the scope of the
invention.
5 In one example of a variant, the cup holder 100 can be of various shapes, as long as it
has at least one intf rns~l step for accommodating more than one cup size. The top
edge 230 of the holder 100 can be of the same height as shown in Figure 6A.
Alternatively it can be shaped to accommodate other shapes of cups such as square
cups Figure 6B, or circular cups Figure 6C. The invention is not intended to be
10 limited to these particular embo-limentc.
In another example of a variant, the number of steps can vary. Although frusto-
conical cups usually come in small, medium, large, and extra-large sizes such asC~n~ n 8, 10, 16, and 20 oz. sizes, and preferably the cup holder should be
a~plopl;ately stepped to accornmodate the full range of cup sizes and shapes sold by a
15 particular establishment. The shape of the cup holder and the number of internal steps
and the angle of the risers and size of the bases can be varied according to the use of
the cup holder and the type of cup or series of cups to be inserted.
Thirdly, the steps can be discontinuous around the perimeter of the inner surface 202
of the side wall 200, the only requirement being that the risers and base when
20 applicable, having sufficient contact with the cup 700 to hold it securely in the holder
100. Some of the possible step arrangements are illustrated in Figures 3B, 3C, and
3D, other arrangements achieving the same results are possible and would be apparent
to a person skilled in the art upon reading this specification.
Preferably, the cup holder 100 is made of a resilient, preferably plastic-like material,
25 and preferably moldable and preferably suited for injection molding. Most preferably
the material is a polypropylene or polyethylene. Preferably the material is
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microwaveable. Other suitable materials would be apparent to those skilled in the art
upon reading this specification.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is
to be understood that many alternatives, modificiations and variations will be apparent
S to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this
invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations
which fall within the scope of the appended claims.
