Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
1085751
The present invention relates to plastics containers for use in
vending machines and particularly to containers which can be nested, one
inside another to form a stack in which the bottom walls of each pair of
adjacent containers are spaced apart and the spaces between adjacent bottom
walls contain dry ingredients for a beverage and are sealed by abutment of
parts of the respective containers.
Such containers may be used in automatic vending machines where
the containers are separated individually from a stack and automatically
filled with water to make a beverage when the machine is operated. They
may also be used in the home where they are separated and filled with
water by hand.
In known containers of this kind the wall of the container is
provided on its inside with an annular projection and on its outside with
an annular groove, the groove being disposed below the projection. When
the containers are fitted together in a stack, the annular projection of
each container interlocks with the annular groove of the container next
above it so as to secure the containers to one another. When such contain-
ers are brought together to form a stack and when they are separated, the
walls of the containers are deflected radially to allow the annular project-
ion to pass over the wall of the container adjacent the groove.
The present invention is concerned to provide an alternativearrangement for holding the cups together in the stack.
According to the present invention there is provided a nestable
container at least partially of resilient plastics material comprising: a
bottom wallj a side wall having an outside and an inside surface and diverg-
ing generally upwardly from the bottom wall; stop and seal surfaces to limit
the extent to which identical containers can be nested one inside another and
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form a sealed space between the bottom walls of nested containers; holding
means for releasably holding identical containers together when nested,
the holding means comprising axially extending ribs disposed on one
surface of the side wall and a substantially cylindrical surface on the
other surface of the side wall, the axially extending ribs being so
arranged to engage the substantially cylindrical part of the side wall
of an identical container when the containers are nested to hold the
containers together by frictional engagement, the axially extending ribs
having crests which are substantially the same distance from the axis of
the container throughout a significant part of their axial length.
By suitable choice of the thickness, height and number of ribs
the frictional force be~ween the containers when the containers are nested
can be adjusted to provide sufficient friction to hold the containers firmly
together and yet allow the containers to be easily separated intentionally
by an axial force. The ribs may be sufficiently thin and high to be flexed ~ '!
in the vertical direction when the containers are nested. By making the
containers of a resilient plastics material such as polypropylene which does
not "relax" when maintained under deformation the ribs will maintain a con-
stant frictional force against the surface o the adjacent container.
Preferably the ribs are formed on the outside of the side wall of
the container. By placing sufficient ribs in a suitable position towards the
top of the containers they may also serve to provide additional insulation
where the container is gripped by the user so that the container is more
comfortable to hold when it contains a very hot beverage.
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The stops and the seals may be formed by the same surfaces. For
example they may be provided by a continuous internal shoulder on the side
wall of the container near its bottom which abuts a continuous foot extending
around the periphery of the bottom wall formed by a downwards extension of
the side wall of an identical container.or a shoulder formed at the periphery
of the bottom of the container where it meets the sidewall. Abutment of
the foot or shoulder with the internal shoulder serves both to limit the
axial extent to which identical containers can be nested one inside the other
and to serve as a seal for the space between the bottom walls of the containers.
Alternatively the stops and the seals may be provided by different
surfaces. For example the stops may be provided by a series of internal
projections distributed around the inside of the container near its bottom
and either a shoulder formed at the periphery of the bottom where it meets the
sidewall or a foot formed by a downward extension of the sidewalls beyond
the bottom wall of the container. The sealing surfaces may be provided by an
outer surface of the sidewall of the container and an inner surface of the
sidewall of an identical container which make wiping contact when the con-
tainers are nested together.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of
example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a container according to the invention;
Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical cross section showing three con-
tainers nested one inside another; and
Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross section on the line III-III in
Figure 2.
Referring to the drawings, these show a cup 11 formed of polypropy-
lene by injection moulding. The cup 11 comprises a bottom wall 12 which is
bowed upwardly, and a side wall 13. The sidewall 13 diverges from the bottom
to the top where it terminates in a lip 14 which is curved outwardly and down-
wardly. A downwardly projecting extension of the side wall below the bottom
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wall provides a foot 15 on which the cup stands. The lower portion o the
sidewall increases in thickness from the bottom wall 12 up to a shoulder 16.
When an identical cup llt is nested inside the cup 11, the foot 151 abuts the
shoulder 16 to limit the extent to which the cups can be nested together and
to seal the space 18 between the adjacent bottom walls 12 and 12' of the cups.
Above the shoulder 16 the sidewall 13 of the cup continues upwardly
and outwardly to a cylindrical region 19. Above the region 19 is a region
20 of the sidewall which extends upwardly and outwardlyO A region 21 above
the region 20 and below the lip 14 is also cylindrical. A small internal bead
extending around the internal periphery of the cup may be formed in the region
of the lip 14 to provide a slight undercut so that when the moulds are
separated after forming the cup the cup remains on the male mould member.
On the outside of the cup in the region 19 are axially extending ribs
22. The crests of the ribs extend parallel to the axis of the cup so that
they are a uniform distance from the axis of the cup throughout their length.
The outside diameter of the ribs is slightly greater than the internal
diameter of the cup in the cylindrical region 210 When the cup 11' is nested
inside the cup 11 and the foot 15 is abutting the stops 17 the ribs 22' engage
the inside of the region 21 of the cup 11. The height, thickness and number
of ribs 22' is such that the frictional forces between the ribs 22~ and the
sidewall of the cup 11 in the region 21 are sufficient to hold the cups to-
gether.
An alternativewayo increasing the force that has to be applied to
separate the cups is to provide between each alternate pair of adjacent ribs,
a pair of projections which extend from the ribs circumferentially towards
one another. ~n the inside of the cup wall is a row of studs. The width of
the studs is slightly greater than the gap between the two projections of each ~ -
pair so that when the cups are nested the studs pass up between the ribs,
flexing the ribs circumferentially as the studs pass through the gaps between
the projections, and engaging behind the projections to assist in holding the
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cups together in a nested configuration. To facilitate removal of the cups
from the mould, the projections may be provided only on the ribs in two
diametrically opposite zones of the cup. The parts of the mould which form
these zones may then be retractable to allow the undercuts on the cups, formed
by the projection, to clear the mould wall.
