Untitled record

© Patent holder (s):

Bunzl Packaging Arnhem BV in Arnhem.

© Patent granted:

26.11.2014 © Patent issued:

03.12.2014 * 72) Inventor (s):

Marcea van Doorn in Velp.

Mariska Aleida Hermsen in Duiven.

© Authorized representative:

Ir. JMG Dohmen cs in Eindhoven.

© Drinking establishment and stack of drinking establishments.

The present invention relates to a drinking device, in particular suitable for drinking tea, comprising a transparent plastic cup with a side wall extending over a height h with a circular cross section, which is provided at the bottom with a bottom and on the top side of an at least substantially circular top edge, which extends in a plane extending at right angles to the side wall, and further comprising a holder of heat-insulating material in which the cup is received, at least in the assembled state of the drinking device, and comprising a side wall extending at a height h ', which is provided at the bottom with a bottom and at the top with a top edge, at least for a part of the side wall of the container, it holds that h <h 'and of which container the shape at least substantially corresponds to that of the cup, and on a stack of such drinking devices.

LC 2010827

This patent has been granted regardless of the attached result of the prior art research and written opinion. The patent corresponds to the documents originally filed.

Short designation: Drinking device and stack of drinking devices

Description

The present invention relates to a drinking device, in particular to a drinking device suitable for drinking hot tea.

Many drinking devices are known for drinking hot drinks, such as hot tea. In particular, the present invention relates to disposable cups in which tea can be taken from, for example, a point of sale such as a kiosk for drinking shortly thereafter. In practice, warm water is passed to a consumer with a separate tea bag in the cup, and the user can draw tea of ​​the desired strength at an appropriate time by immersing the tea bag in the water at a time of his / her choice. The user determines the strength of the tea by immersing the tea bag in the water for shorter or longer periods.

Cups of transparent or opaque plastic are known, which have the drawback that the heat of the tea is easily transferred to a user who holds the cup. This is experienced as very annoying, at least if the water is hot enough to make tea. It is known to make the cups tapered, so that they can be stacked together. It is also known to provide a tapered sleeve in which the plastic cup is placed on sale by the seller, and in which the cup hangs, as it were, when the thus-assembled drinking device is held by the sleeve. However, this is cumbersome for the seller. Cups made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam are also known, in which the EPS has a heat-insulating function, but have the drawback that the cups are not recyclable. There are also cardboard cups that are laminated with a liquid-tight inner layer. The cardboard is somewhat heat insulating. The laminate of cardboard with a liquid-tight inner layer is also difficult to recycle. In addition, many materials such as the laminated cardboard and the EPS have an adverse effect on the taste of the beverage contained in the cup, which is relatively noticeable, especially with tea, because of the fine taste of tea.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a drinking device according to the introduction which solves or at least substantially reduces the above-mentioned drawbacks. This object is achieved according to the invention with a drinking device particularly suitable for drinking tea, comprising a transparent plastic cup with a side wall extending over a height h with a circular cross section, which is provided at the bottom with a bottom and on the top side of an at least substantially circular top edge, which extends in a plane extending at right angles to the side wall, and further comprising a holder in which the cup is received, at least in the assembled condition of the drinking device, and comprising a side wall extending over a height h ', which is provided at the bottom with a bottom and at the top with a top edge, wherein at least for a part of the side wall of the holder, it holds that h <h 'and of which holder the shape and dimensions, insofar as the holder and the cup overlap, at least substantially correspond to that of the cup and wherein the overlap of the cup and the container has a heat insulating effect. The side wall of the container is a substantially continuous wall which provides a user with an at least substantially contiguous gripping surface, this in distinction from plastic frames with an ear with which the container can be held. Preferably, the container has no protruding parts that would hinder the nested stacking of and a number of such drinking devices. The colorless transparent cup, in combination with a holder that extends, at least in part, only over a smaller height than the cup, allows a user to visually assess the strength of the tea while the tea is being drawn and remove a tea bag from the cup at a desired time (at a desired strength). The holder has the function of preventing the heat transfer from the contents of the cup to the hand of a user. This is possible, for example, because the holder itself has sufficient heat-insulating properties when the holder closely adheres to the cup, or because space is left between the holder and the cup to provide an insulating effect. The bottom of the holder, like its side wall, provides firmness to the plastic cup, so that the cup can be of thin-walled design and so that the cup can optionally be carried by a consumer at the bottom, or the cup can be held by the consumer with one or a few fingers. are supported. Where an orientation is mentioned in this document it is in relation to a cup with the bottom pointing down. Due to the added properties of the container, less or less stringent requirements are made of the material of the cup.

This frees up space for other properties and, for example, it is easier to select a material that has no or minimal flavor release from the cup to the consumer during the drinking device.

The bottom of the container is preferably flat to form a flat support surface or a flat support edge. The bottom of the cup is preferably flat, so that its shape matches that of the container. When the drinking device is assembled, the bottom of the cup and the holder preferably extend parallel to each other, so that the contents of the holder can be optimally used for receiving a drink contained in the cup. In a preferred embodiment, the bottoms of the cup and the container are in contact with each other when the drinking device is assembled, or they extend at a minimum distance from each other. That is, the mutual distance at the point where the bottoms are closest to each other is a maximum of 3 mm, or a maximum of 2 mm.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cup and the container are secured together. This ensures that the person who takes a drinking device according to the present invention, for instance from a stack of such drinking devices, also automatically takes the holder with him when gripping a cup. This is particularly important when the side wall of the container does not extend anywhere, or at least near, the top edge of the cup. In this way it is prevented that the person who distributes such containers with drink has to perform additional operations to slide the container and the cup together.

It is preferred that the cup and the holder are attached to each other by means of spot gluing. Point bonding provides a sufficient fastening and, on the other hand, the amount of glue required for fastening is limited.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bottom of the cup is directly attached to the bottom of the container. The adhesive fastening is hereby kept, at least in large part, out of sight of a user. Moreover, the space between the bottoms of the holder on the one hand and the cup on the other hand is suitable for applying the glue connection. The glue connection can also serve as a spacer between the (bottoms of) the cup and the holder.

Alternatively, or additionally, the holder and the cup are connected to each other by means of a clamping connection. When using a clamp connection, an adhesive connection can be avoided or supported.

The clamping connection must thereby be strong such that when a cup is taken from a stack of drinking devices, or when a holder is taken from a stack of inverted drinking devices , the holder or the cup is automatically taken along.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the top edge of the container is provided with recesses. That is, the side wall of the container extends at or in one or more particular locations or regions less far toward the top edge of the cup than at another location. The relatively high side wall part of the holder thus provides a good gripping surface for the user, while the relatively low part of the side wall, or the recess, gives a user the opportunity to measure the strength of the liquid, for instance tea, in the drinking device. see. It is preferred that two recesses are provided diametrically opposite each other, so that it is possible to see through the cup at the location of the recess. The top edge can take various forms, for example a crenellated character or a corrugated character.

It is preferred that the side wall of the container in the assembled condition of the drinking device extends partly to or near the top edge of the cup and partly extends over a distance of <0.75 h along the side wall of the cup. A good combination of grip and transparency is thus provided.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, it is preferred that the top edge of the container extends in one plane, the height h 'of the side wall of the container being in the range of 0.3 h to 0.8 h . In such an embodiment, a trade-off is always made between a relatively large height h for providing a sufficiently large gripping surface and a relatively small height for providing a view of a beverage present in the drinking device. The height h 'of the side wall of the container is further preferably at least 0.4 h and / or at most 0.7 h.

In order to provide a good heat barrier between a hot liquid in the cup and the hand of a user holding the drinking device, it is preferred that between the outside of the side wall of the cup and the inside of the side wall of the container when assembled there is a minimal play of the drinking device, so that air between the cup and the container acts as a heat-insulating layer. The clearance is preferably less than 2 mm, further preferably at least 1 mm or even 0.5 mm.

To provide the ability to stack a number of drinking devices, it is preferable that the side walls of the cup and container are tapered from top to bottom.

When the container is made of paper or cardboard, the container provides some insulating effect and the paper or cardboard can be printed with a text and / or a design.

When the container is alternatively made of foamed plastic, such as, for example, EPS or expanded polylactic acid, the container can, without the need for an insulating air layer between the container and the cup, create a good heat barrier between a hot liquid present in the cup and the hand of a user provide.

The top edge of the cup is folded back or is otherwise bent outwards, thereby providing a relatively thick and thus pleasant drinking edge for the user.

At least if the container closely encloses the cup, it is preferred that the container is made of a material with a heat conductivity coefficient of at most 0.1 W / mK, further preferably at most 0.060 W / mK. Thus, without the effect of an insulating air layer, the container provides sufficient insulating effect to allow the user to grip the drinking device filled with warm liquid without the risk of burning his hand.

If the container encloses the cup in such a way that air as an insulating layer of air is present between the container and the cup, it is preferable that the container is made of a material with a heat conductivity coefficient of at most 0.3 W / mK, further preferably highest 0.2 W / mK. The air with a relatively low heat conductivity coefficient provides, as it were, a second heat-insulating layer and thus supports the insulating effect of the container. In other words, the air between the cup and the container together with the container provides a sufficient amount of heat insulation to retain the drinking device filled with warm liquid without risk of burns.

A further property with which the insulating effect of the container can be expressed is the heat resistance. The heat resistance of the material of the container is preferably at least 0.5 m²/ KW for drinking establishments with a container tightly enclosing the cup and at least 0.25 m²/ KW for drinking establishments with a “spacious” cup enclosing the cup with an insulating air layer.

The softening temperature of the cup material is preferably above 80 ° C. Otherwise, the cup would melt, or at least become too limp for safe use, if hot water is poured into it. The softening temperature is further preferably at least 100 ° C, so that the cup can also withstand almost boiling water. Tea is preferably brewed at a temperature of 92 ° C to obtain a good tasting tea.

When the cup is made of PLA or CDA it is advantageous that the cup is compostable. The cup is further preferably made of a material from renewable natural sources.

Other properties of the container are shape retention and splinterability. These are admittedly relative terms, but it should be clear that a holder preferably does not deform or hardly deforms when gripping the drinking device. Some elastic compressibility is not desirable, but acceptable to avoid over-dimensioning the rigidity of the drinking device. The container should not deform in the assembled condition of the cup by a user during "normal" handling in such a way that there is a reasonable chance that liquid will flow over the rim of the cup. By splinterability it is expressed that when the container is compressed after use, the container preferably does not present a risk of injuries to the user, for instance as a result of the 'breaking' of the container, or if it is broken due to sharp fracture edges. The latter property also applies to the cup.

The cup is preferably made of a material from the group of thermoplastic polymers (food grade), for example polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (polylactic acid, PLA) or cellulose diacetate (CDA). Of the preferred materials mentioned, PP is particularly suitable for its processing properties and for cost reasons. However, the materials listed all contain a combination of cup-suitable properties.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the outside of the side wall of the cup, when assembled of the drinking device, lies closely against the inside of the side wall of the container. Thus, the resistance to pulling the container and cup apart is increased. Furthermore, the holder offers the cup better support in such an embodiment, in particular when a very warm liquid is present in the cup.

In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, a lid is provided, with which the cup can be closed at the top edge. The lid is separated from the cup prior to use, i.e. before filling the cup with liquid. After filling the cup, the lid can be placed on the top edge. This prevents warm liquid from flowing out of the cup, for instance when a user walks with a filled drinking device. In addition, the lid provides greater firmness to the drinking device.

According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a stack of drinking devices according to the previous aspect of the present invention, wherein the drinking devices are preferably provided with a tapered rim and wherein a cup and a holder alternate each other. Thus, for example, a catering employee who dispenses drinks, for example hot drinks and in particular tea, can always take a combination of a holder and a cup from or from the stack. This is facilitated according to the present invention when a container and cup from the stack are always attached to each other or otherwise held together, such as for instance clampingly.

The present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments of drinking devices according to the present invention and with reference to the following figures, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective side view of a first embodiment of a drinking device according to the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a perspective bottom view of the drinking device of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows a vertical sectional view of the drinking device of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 shows a perspective side view of an alternative embodiment of a drinking device according to the present invention;

Figure 5 shows a vertical cross-sectional view of the drinking device according to Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a perspective side view of yet another drinking device according to the present invention.

Now looking at Figures 1, a perspective view of a tea cup 1 as a drinking device according to the present invention is shown. Figures 2 and 3 show the tea cup in perspective bottom view and in vertical sectional view, respectively. Tea cup 1 comprises a cup 2 of transparent polypropylene (PP) and a cardboard holder 3 surrounding the cup. PP is a material that does not give a taste or odor when a user drinks hot drink from it and is therefore excellent for holding tea. Cup 2 has a flat bottom 4 at the peripheral edge of which a side wall 5 extends at an angle α obliquely upwards to a top edge 6 formed with an outwardly recoiled skirt 7. Holder 3 has a flat bottom 8 extending slightly beyond the peripheral edge of the bottom 4 of the cup protrudes. A side wall 9 also extends upwards at an angle α relative to bottom 8. However, the side wall 9 at the bottom protrudes a little beyond the bottom 8, thereby forming a collar 10. Side wall 9 does not extend equally far upwards everywhere and thus has a crenellated top edge 11. The bottom 4 of the cup 2 and the bottom 8 of the holder 3 are glued together by means of glue 12.

As can be seen in particular from Figure 1, the holder 3 has two opposite higher parts which are separated by two opposite lower parts. The higher parts provide a part where a user can properly grip the holder 3, and with it the tea cup 1. The lower parts provide "see-through" through the holder 3 and the transparent cup 2. A user can thus properly assess the color of the drink contained in the tea cup 1. With tea, the color is an indicator of the strength of the tea. The glue spot 12 functions not only as a fastening means for fixing the holder 3 and the cup 2 together, but also as a spacer. Due to the mutual distance thus realized between the bottoms 4, 8 of the cup 2 and the holder 3, an insulating air layer is present between the bottoms 4, 8. An insulating air layer is also present between the side walls 5, 9 of the cup 2 and the holder 3, which is the result of the dimensioning of the cup 2 and the holder 3, and possibly the glue spot 12. Due to the insulating effect of the cardboard on the side wall 9 of the container 3 in combination with the air layer, the tea cup 1 can be grabbed by a user without the heat of the beverage contained in the cup 2, such as hot tea, being annoyingly the user's hand is transferred. In practice, users often support a tea cup of the “take away” type with the little finger or with one or more fingers at the bottom. In that case the collar 10 forms an extra spacer between the bottom 4 of the cup 2 and the little finger or finger (s).

Figures 4 and 5 show a perspective side view and a vertical sectional view, respectively, of an alternative tea cup 21 according to the present invention. Tea cup 21 has a cup 2 as in Figures 1 to 3 and a holder 23 of EPS foam. The same or comparable elements with respect to the previous embodiment of drinking device 1 are indicated in Figures 4 and 5 with the same reference numbers and with increased reference numbers respectively as in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The side wall 29 of container 23 encloses the side wall 5 of cup 2 closely. EPS foam has a relatively low thermal conductivity, so that an insulating air layer is not necessary. Supported by the friction between the tight-fitting EPS of holder 23 and the PP of cup 2, a clamping connection is provided, as it were, as a result of which cup 2 is difficult to dislodge from holder 23. Holder 23 has a side wall 29 with a higher part which extends further with respect to holder 3, namely up to a skirt 7 of cup 2. In this embodiment a collar is missing on the underside of holder 23. Since the EPS has a higher insulation value than cardboard, it is easier to provide a sufficiently large insulation to the bottom 28 of the container 23.

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of yet another embodiment of a tea cup 41 according to the present invention. The same or comparable elements with respect to the previous embodiment of drinking device 1 are indicated in Figure 6 with the same reference numerals and 24 raised reference numerals, respectively, as in Figures 1, 2 and

3. Tea cup 41 has a cup 2 and a corrugated cardboard holder 43 with, unlike holder 3, a flush-lying top edge 51 of side wall 49 extending from the bottom 48 to about 1/3 of the side wall 5 of cup 2. Corrugated cardboard, like the cardboard of container 3 of Figures 1, 2 and 3, provides a well-printable surface on which information or advertisements can be printed. Holder 43 is closely connected with the inside of its side wall 49 to the outside of the side wall 5 of cup 2. The bottoms 4 and 48 of cup 2 and holder 43 are glued together. In comparison with drinking devices 1 and 21, drinking device 41 with relatively short side wall 49 provides a relatively small holding part, but a relatively large see-through part.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying figures and the foregoing description with reference to only a few exemplary embodiments of drinking devices. However, it is to be understood that many variants, whether or not obvious to those skilled in the art, are conceivable within the scope of the present invention, which is defined by the following claims. Thus, for the cup and the container, other materials can be used which have properties specified in claim 1 and therefore fall within the scope of the materials as such indirectly defined in claim 1. The shapes of the cup and the holder may differ from the examples shown. A lid can also be provided which, after filling the cup, can be attached to the cup in a manner known per se on the top edge of the cup. The lid can be provided to prevent spillage, and it can also give the cup more strength. Although the drinking device is always referred to as a tea cup in the description, the drinking device can also be used excellently for holding and drinking other hot or cold drinks, such as coffee, soup, chocolate milk or soft drink.