Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02472931 2004-07-02
CUP HOLDER
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cup holders and in particular relates to a sleeve
adapted to receive a cup in one position and foldable in another position. The
invention also relates to the method of producing the holder.
Background of the Invention
Disposable paper board cups are routinely used in fast food and restaurants
to contain hot drinks. Such cups are generally of standardized size normally
frusto-
conical or tapered. Such cups are generally thin walled and may be difficult
to
handle particularly when the cups include hot coffee, tea, soup or the like.
Furthermore cold drinks may also be served in standardized frusto-conical
cups and may also be difficult to hold in view of the cold temperature. Such
prior art
cups may be comprised of very thin plastic having little strength.
Accordingly a number of prior art cup holders or sleeves have heretofore been
designed in order to insulate the user's fingers against extreme hot or cold
temperatures as well as to add structural strength to the cup.
For example, U.S. Patent No. 5, 205,473 relates to a corrugated beverage
container and holders which provide fluted structures for containing
insulating air.
Furthermore U.S. Patent No. 5,425,497 also relates to a cup holder in the
form of a sheet with distal ends. A web is formed in one of the ends, and a
corresponding slot is formed at the other end such that the ends interlock.
The cup
holder is assembled by rolling the sheet and interlocking the ends. The sheet
can be
an elongate band of pressed material preferably pressed paper pulp as
preferably
formed with multiple nubbins and depressions.
Yet another arrangement is shown in U.S. Patent No. 5,826,786 which relates
to a cup holder sleeve formed in pre-assembled, flat-folded form by die
cutting a flat
elongated band from blank stock material so as to have top and bottom edges
concentric to and parallel with each other, fold lines scored into the band at
spaced
CA 02472931 2004-07-02
-2-
apart positions tapering toward each other, and side edges at opposite ends of
the
band.
Moreover U.S. Patent No. 5,842,633 relates to a sleeve provided for a frusto~
conical beverage cup, configured to fit around the outside of the cup, thus
protecting
the fingers of the user from excessive temperatures in the case of hot drink,
and to
provide a measure of insulation for the contents of the cup.
It i s a n object o f t his invention t o p rovide a n improved c up holder
which is
easy to manufacture and produce.
It is an aspect of this invention to provide a holder for a cup comprising a
foamed plastic sleeve having an open top and bottom for receiving said cup.
It is a further a spect of this invention to provide a holder for a tapered
cup
comprising an extruded foamed plastic sheet having spaced substantially
concentric
curved top and bottom and two opposite ends; said ends are overlapping and
bonded to each other to define a sleeve; said extruded foam plastic sheet been
pliable without breaking.
It is yet another aspect of this invention to provide a method of
manufacturing
a foamed polystyrene sleeve for a cup comprising extruding a sheet of foamed
polystyrene; cutting said sheet to form spaced substantially concentric curved
top
and bottom and two opposite ends; forming at least two fold lines and a
plurality of
ribs to said cut sheet; folding said formed sheet so as to overlap and bond
said ends
together.
Summary of the Invention
An object o f o ne a spect of the p resent i nvention is to provide a n
improved
insulating sleeve.
Brief Description of the Drawings
A detailed description of the preferred embodiments are provided herein
below by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings, in
which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cup holder or sleeve containing a cup.
CA 02472931 2004-07-02
-3-
Fig. 2 is a partial top plan view of an extruded sheet of foamed polystyrene.
Fig. 3 is a top plan view showing a cut and formed sheet.
Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a foamed extruded polystyrene sheet which has
been cut and formed.
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 4.
Fig. 6 illustrates a stacked array of cut formed sheets.
Fig. 7 illustrates the folding and gluing step.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the cup holder.
Fig. 9 is a top plan view of Fig. 8.
Fig. 10 is another embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 11 is another embodiment of the invention.
In the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way
of example. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings
are
only for the purpose of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are
not
intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.
Detailed Descriation of the Preferre~t Embodiment
In the description which follows, like parts are marked throughout the
specification and the drawings with the same respective reference numerals.
The
drawings are not necessarily to scale and in some instances proportions may
have
been exaggerated in order to more clearly depict certain features of the
invention.
Fig. 1 illustrates the cup holder or sleeve 2 in combination with a cup 4
which
may have a lid 6. The cup 4 can be comprised of a variety of materials but
generally
consists of a paper cup which is well known to those persons skilled in the
art having
little insulating value. The cup 4 is generally frusto-conical or tapered and
is
concentric about axis 8.
Fig. 8 generally illustrates the holder or sleeve 2 or cup which is comprised
of
a foamed plastic having an open top 10 and open bottom 12.
CA 02472931 2004-07-02
-4-
The foamed p lastic i s pliable a nd i t i s g enerally s elected from the g
roup o f
polystyrene, polypropylene and polyethylene. Generally speaking it has been
thought that foamed polystyrene is not pliable, namely, that it will break
when
attempting to bend a flat sheet into a circular configuration. However, such
foamed
plastic has been found to be pliable when adding a plurality of depressions.
More
specifically by forming ribs into the foamed polystyrene it has been found
that a
pliable structure which can be manipulated into a sleeve without breakage.
Alternatively in another embodiment, it is also been found that if the
thickness of
foamed polystyrene is selected to be thin enough to be pliable so as not to
break
when configured into a circular sleeve. A cup holder can be constructed, as
described below.
The embodiment of the cup holder shown in Fig. 8 includes a plurality of ribs
14 which are disposed to extend between the open top 10 and open bottom 12 as
shown. More particularly the plurality of ribs 14 may be disposed
substantially in the
same direction as the axis 8.
The embodiment shown in Fig. 8 can be constructed from a sheet of extruded
foamed polystyrene as shown in Fig. 2. In one embodiment the sheet of extruded
foamed polystyrene is extruded from the extruder (not shown) in the direction
D of
the extruded path. The extruded foam sheet may exit in the form of a
continuous
web which can by standard practise, be aged for three or four days to permit
dissipation of foamed gases and the like. Thereafter the sheets of foamed
polystyrene can be delivered to a cutting and thermo forming station (not
shown) so
as to cut the sheet 20 to produce a cut sheet having spaced substantially
concentric
curved top and bottom 12 and two opposite ends 22 and 24. The opposite ends 22
and 24 are adapted to be overlapped and bonded to one another so as to define
the
sleeve shown in Fig. 8.
During the thermo forming stage the sheet 20 of foamed polystyrene is
embossed to produce a plurality of depressions (best seen in Fig. 5) to define
a
plurality of ribs 14. Although the embodiment shows a plurality of ribs 14 the
sheet
20 can be embossed to form any textured surface such as stipples, waves or
other
patterns so long as the thickness of the foam sheet is "squeezed". It is
believed that
this forming or squeezing stage compresses the closed cell structure of the
foamed
polystyrene so as to improve its pliability.
CA 02472931 2004-07-02
-5-
Furthermore by forming the depressions 26 in the surface so as to produce
the ribs 14 or other protrusions a natural air gap is produced between the
surface of
the depressions 26 and the ribs 14 so as to improve the insulating
characteristics of
the hot liquid contained in the cup 4. Moreover if any of the contents of the
hot
beverage in cup 4 is accidentally spilled over the surface of the cup holder
the liquid
will be naturally drained by gravity between the region bounded by the
depressions
26 and protrusions or ribs 14.
Furthermore the foamed polystyrene is a naturally good insulating material
and will insulate the user's fingers from the hot beverages contained in the
cup 4.
Although it is possible that the cup holders 2 could be stacked one inside the
other for shipment at least two fold lines 30, as seen in Fig. 3 are applied
during the
thermo forming stage so as to permit the sleeve to be collapsed into a flat
position
for storing and transporting and be thereafter opened to defined a
substantially
frusto-conical sleeve having an open top 10 and bottom 12 adapted to receive
the
cup in the open position.
Furthermore the ribs shown in Fig. 1 are formed on the exterior surface of the
sleeve 2, but could just as easily be formed on the interior surface of the
sleeve 2
particularly when used to hold cold drinks which tend to form condensate on
the
outside of the cup to permit drainage by gravity without wetting the fingers
of the
user. In other words the ribs 14 are disposed on the inside of the sleeve to
allow
condensation to run off a cup filled with cold drinks.
Fig. 6 illustrates a stacked array of cut formed sheets showing the fold lines
30. In this case two pairs of fold lines 30 are provided. Each cut sheet is
then
advanced to the folding and adhesive station shown in Fig. 7 whereby the cut
sheets
20 are sequentially advanced by any number of means including rollers (not
shown)
so as to upturn the edges 22 and 24 towards one another so as to thereby apply
a
suitable adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive to at least one of the
overlapping
edges 22 and 24 so that by the time the folded sleeve reaches the end of the
folding
station as shown in Fig. 7 the sleeve is substantially flat as shown and glued
together. Any means of gluing or adhesive can be used.
CA 02472931 2004-07-02
-6-
Optionally during the thermo forming stage indicia 40 may be added, as seen
in Fig. 8 to include a company logo, trademark or the like so as to improve
the
appearance of the cup holder.
Fig. 11 shows another embodiment of the invention whereby the sleeve is
comprised of a loop of cut foamed polystyrene which is adhesively bonded as
previously described to form a closed loop sleeve. By controlling the
thickness of the
foamed polystyrene it has been found that sleeves are pliable or bendable
without
breaking. In one embodiment of the invention it has been found that if the
thickness
of foamed polystyrene is selected to be up to approximately 25 thousandths of
an
inch a plastic sleeve can be constructed. However the invention should not be
limited to up to 25 thousandths of an inch as greater thicknesses could be
used
within the spirit of the invention. The sleeves shown in Fig. 2 can be stacked
one
within the other as shown in Fig. 10 or alternatively as shown in Fig. 11 the
sleeves
can include a plurality of fold lines as previously described and flattened
again as
previously described. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 10 and 11 the
depressions
or ribs have been removed. Alternatively, however, the ribs may be added.
Moreover any other texture apart from ribs such as stippling or the like which
have
embossed so as to improve the pliability characteristics of polystyrene can
also be
used.
The invention described herein illustrates a method of manufacturing a
foamed polystyrene sleeve for a cup comprising:
(a) extruding a sheet of foamed polystyrene;
(b) cutting the sheet to form spaced substantially concentric curved top
and bottom and two opposite ends;
(c) forming at least two fold lines and a plurality of ribs to said cut sheet;
(d) folding the formed sheet so as to overlap and bond the ends together.
Furthermore the spacing of the ribs are accurately calculated so that even
though the ribs 14 fan out as shown in Fig. 3 i.e. are placed radially
substantially
parallel to one another once the sleeve is formed the ribs tend to be disposed
along
the length of the cup 4.
CA 02472931 2004-07-02
_7-
Furthermore the polystyrene has an improved co-efficient of friction as
compared to a typically prior art sleeves so as to improve the gripping
characteristics.
Also the sleeve adds structural strength to a flimsy cup as manufacturers of
cups try to reduce their costs.
Various embodiments of the invention have now been described in detail.
Since changes in andlor additions to the above-described best mode may be made
without departing from the nature, spirit or scope of the invention, the
invention is not
to be limited to said details.
