Apparatus for fabricating an insulated container

The invention generally relates to a device used for making insulated containers for hot beverages and the like.

THE APARTMENT IS TECHNIQUE

There are many earlier examples of insulated containers for hot liquids such as coffee, tea, soups and the like. Examples can be found in US-A-2,266,828, US-A-4,007,670, US-A-5,145,107, US-A5,460,323, US-A-5,524,817, US-A-5,685,480 and US-A-6,663,926. Each of these vessels contains an inner cup and an outer shell, between which the gap is filled with air. In modem containers of this type, the cup is made of thin cardboard, lined on the inside with polyethylene resin or similar material. The cup and the wrapper are connected by gluing in adequate places on the top and bottom, or, in some more recent variants, by hot joining. The space, filled with air, between the wall of the cup and the wrapper can be maintained by means of spacers of different configurations.

Document JP 2001/293802 describes a cup made of paper, with an inner wall and an outer wall which are joined by the application of hot-melt varnish, according to the circumference of the wall. The outer wall has a curved part at the end towards the opening of the vessel. The inner wall has an edge part which is connected and fixed to the outer surface of the twisted part by means of a circular hot joint.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,323 discloses a vessel with an inner wall and an outer shell. The side part of the inner wall is bent inwards. The vessel consists of three bases, which are lined on at least one side. The flap is sealed. The bottom is closed with the lower part of the base. The outer shell is wrapped around the inner vessel, the lining on the edge is heated, and then the two parts are joined when they are folded and pressed together. Further, the lower parts of these heated edge parts are connected to the lower part of the rim.

Document JP 2001/294282 shows a vessel with a body that has many longitudinal ribs facing the outside, and the upper edge has a flange part. An adhesive tape is wrapped around the periphery of the body to connect the ribs, and a stretchy label is provided.

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U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,814 discloses apparatus for hot joining round vessels. The vessel is made of a casing that is folded to form a lot of folded seams on the side walls that must be joined. The apparatus has annulus, a heated ring that can be brought into contact with the edge of the vessel, and then even heating is performed along the entire circumference. There is also a male part of the block that is inserted into the inside of the vessel. Furthermore, the longitudinal extensions also contain an electric heating element. Thus, the annular part brings heat along the edge, and the extension brings heat along the longitudinal seam of the shell, so that the vessel is closed / sealed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for making insulated containers so that improved joints between the cup and the wrapper are provided by an improved joining process in a simple manner.

The foregoing and other objects have been achieved by means of a coupling device, with the characteristics of claim 1.

A thermally sealed plastic coating is provided on the inside of said coating and after heating the coating and placing the cup in the coating, at least one joint point and / or joint surface, in order to connect said wrapper and said cup body via a plastic coating, is only locally formed within appropriate contact lines. "Contact line" is generally a virtual contact line, where the outer surface of the cup body and the inner surface of the shell can be in contact when the cup is placed in the shell. However, it is not necessary that there is indeed contact between the respective walls of the casing and the body of the cup along their entire circumference, but the contact line may be only partially present along the circumference, where within this contact line there are corresponding joint points and / or joint surfaces. They are formed only locally, by a suitable method, where the shell and the wall of the cup are pressed together at at least one of these points of connection and / or the surfaces of the joint, which are located within said contact line.

As the respective thermally sealed plastic coating is melted before inserting the cup into the wrapper, the joint will be made at the respective joint points and / or joint surfaces after curing of this coating.

Of course, it is possible for the contact line to be a ring line, which can also completely surround the body of the cup and the wrapper and may have some extension in the vertical direction, which means normal to the corresponding circumferential direction.

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It is enough to use only one point of connection or the surface of the joint, because it is used only to prevent the loss of the inner cup during the handling of the container during assembly, packaging, storage, etc. After the appropriate hot beverage, or the like, is poured into the container, the inner cup will remain in the wrapper mainly due to the weight of the respective beverage, so that the appropriate joint point or joint surface should provide very little bonding force.

However, it is also possible to securely fix the cup body and the wrapper to each other, for example, by providing a plurality of joint weights and / or joint surfaces formed along the contact line, all separated by free parts of said contact line. In addition, the connection points and / or the joint surfaces can be arranged next to each other and separated from each other in the horizontal and / or vertical direction within the contact line. This means that the individual connection points and / or joint surfaces are arranged in a horizontal or vertical direction or that a group of such connection points or joint surfaces is formed which are, for example, arranged in a vertical direction, and then such groups are arranged next to each other. in a horizontal or circumferential direction.

It is possible to provide suitable connection points and / or joint surfaces not evenly distributed in the circumferential direction. In order to improve the design of the vessel, as well as the appropriate procedure for its construction, it may be advantageous if the appropriate points or surfaces are properly arranged.

The thermal sealing material is a thermal sealing plastic coating, in accordance with the invention.

The subject insulated vessel has a gap / gap between the wall of the cup and the wall of the shell in the lower part of the vessel and in general, the air gap should be maintained so that there are no connections that allow heat transfer. Therefore, it is useful to form a suitable line of contact between the annular upper part of the wall of the body of the cup and the upper part, predominantly cylindrical, of said shell. In this part of the vessel, an appropriate gap is not necessary, because the contact line is set higher than the level of the beverage with which the vessel is filled.

It is also possible to arrange said joint points and / or joint surfaces immediately along the lower edge of said annular upper part of the wall of the cup body, whereby a upper shoulder is formed. A gap begins under this upper shoulder.

It is possible to use different materials for the wrapper or cup, and at least one of them can be made of a suitable plastic material. Also, for recycling reasons, it is possible for the cup and / or wrapper to be made of cardboard. In order to achieve a sufficient density of the fluid, at least the cup, the subject cup-forming carton is coated with the aforementioned polyethylene resin or similar material. Of course, cardboard can too

52259 Β be coated with a thermally sealed plastic coating, which can also be placed on the outer wall of the cup.

The corresponding joint points or joint surfaces can be of different shapes. For example, the points of connection may have a circular, rectangular or other cross-section. Suitable joint surfaces may be in the form of short strips, the strips being arranged horizontally or at an angle to the circumferential direction.

In order to melt the mentioned plastic coating, it is sufficient to heat it only locally, but it is also possible, for example, to heat the plastic coating in the form of an annular strip completely.

In order to obtain sufficient pressure to press the wall of the cup and the wall of the casing until the thermally sealed plastic coating hardens again, a first annulus element with at least one radially movable or convex pressure element is placed inside the cup body and the pressure element presses against the outer, second element to would press together the body walls of the cup and the wrapper to form one or more joint points and / or a joint surface. Of course, it is also possible that the respective pressure elements are part of an external, second element or that these pressure elements are present in both elements.

It is also possible that such pressure elements are not in direct contact with any of the walls of the vessel, but deform, for example, an annular and flexible ring on its inner side, and then this ring with its deformed part on the outside presses together the body walls cups and wrappers, in action with another element.

A suitable apparatus for joining the outer shell and the inner cup, to form an insulated container for hot beverages and the like, comprises a first element acting on the inner cup, a second element generally concentric with said first element and located outside the outer shell, and at least one radially convex or movable pressure element which presses together the walls of the casing and the cup to form one or more joint points and / or a joint surface along the circumference of the casing and the cup.

The first element can be an annular ring or a disc that is inserted into the body of the cup. This annulus ring or disc can support a suitable pressure element or elements so that they can move in a radial direction.

A simple solution of such a movable element is a movable piston, which is supported by said first and / or second element.

In order to obtain evenly spaced connection points or joint surfaces, a corresponding number of radially movable pressure elements is also evenly distributed along the circumference of the first or second element.

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In order to prepare the envelope for inserting the cup body, the apparatus comprises a receiving element with at least a circumferential part and an upper flange for holding the envelope.

In order to use the corresponding receiving element, also as a second or extreme element, it is possible for the counter-pressure extension to extend from the upper flange of the receiving element in a predominantly vertical direction. In this way, the corresponding movable pressure elements can be part of the first or annular element and no second, separate element is required.

It is also possible to use a gripping element to hold the body of the cup in a predefined position, whereby this can be achieved by means of a upper part of the anti-pressure extension, which is used as a bearing for the outer twisted part of the body of the cup.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated more or less schematically in the drawings:

DRAWING 1 is a side view of an insulated vessel, comprising an inner cup, an outer shell and representing the first solution of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom view of the vessel of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the vessel of Figure 1, with portions of the vessel in vertical section;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the top of the vessel casing of Figure 1, showing the first step of making a vessel;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 and shows the insertion of a cup into a wrapper;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to Figure 4 and shows spot welding-joining of the wrapper and the cup, in the next step of making the vessel;

DRAWING 7 is a top view of a vessel and a corresponding spot welding-joining tool or apparatus;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the vessel, together with the tool of FIG. 7 for spot welding e-splicing;

CTREŽ 9 is a view similar to Figure 3 and shows an insulated container according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to Figure 4 and shows the first step of making a second vessel solution;

FIGURE 11 is a view similar to Figure 5 and shows the next step of making a second vessel solution;

FIGURE 12 is a view similar to Figure 6 and shows the next step of making a second vessel solution.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, in particular drawings 1 to 3, the insulated hot beverage container is generally illustrated as (10). The container comprises an inner cup (12) and an outer shell (14), arranged telescopically and pointwise connected to each other in accordance with the present invention.

According to Figure 3, the inner cup (12) comprises a cup body (22) and a cup bottom (24), individually made of cardboard in a standard manner. Prior to production, the cardboard is coated on one side with a thermally sealed plastic material, such as polyethylene or the like. The assembled cup (12) then has an inner lining (15) of polyethylene, over the whole, or over one part, of the inner surface.

The wall (29), in the shape of a notched cup, the body of the cup (22) has an annular shoulder (31), formed inwards, near the bottom of the cup (24). The shoulder (31) serves as a stopping point for the next cup above, when the cups stack on top of each other.

The bottom of the cup (24) is placed in the body (22) in an illustrated manner. The segment (26) of the lower edge of the wall of the cup (29) is bent inwards and upwards in order to accept the annular, downwardly extended circumferential part (28) of the bottom of the cup (24).

The body of the cup (22) also has an annular upper shoulder (32), formed outwards in relation to the conical side wall (29), at a distance of 5 mm or more, downwards from the outer twisted part (34) which forms the upper edge of the body. Between the shoulder (32) and the twisted part (34), the upper part (37) of the wall with the annulus outer surface (38), see also drawing 5, is in contact with the lower part (39) of the surface, at the edge of the shoulder (41), which serves as the point of connection or the surface of the joint (1) or (2) to which the inner surface of the sheath (14) is connected by annulus, as described herein.

The outer shell (14), as well as the wall of the cup (29), has the shape of a notched cup. The wrapper (14) is made of cardboard having an inner lining (42) of thermally sealed plastic material. The inner lining can be placed along the entire casing (14) or only on the surface or point of connection, along the corresponding contact line (3), see also Figure 7. The shell (14) has an inner twisted part (44), see Figure 3, formed at the lower edge and this twisted part is in contact with the outer surface (4) of the wall (29) of the cup body, above the lower part of the cup (12) at a distance approximately corresponds to the height of the bottom of the glass (24).

The annulus of the upper edge (9) or (51) of the sheath (14), see also Fig. 5, is immediately adjacent to the twisted part (34) of the body of the cup (22) and can rest on it from below. From there, the sheath (14) extends downwards into a narrowed, annular surface, where it is at least partially in contact with the upper part (37) of the wall and the annulus with the outer surface (38) slightly above the lower edge (41) of the shoulder (32).

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The thermally sealed plastic coating (42) inside the casing (14) is locally melted more than the cup (12) and the casing (14) are assembled. After assembly, the sheath (14) is thermally joined at one or more joint points or the surfaces of the joint (1), (2), as illustrated, for example, in Figure 6 as a point var-joint (53), where it is connected to the shoulder (32) of the body of the cup or the annular outer surface (38), near its lower edge (41), i.e. at a distance of approximately 5 mm from the twisted part (34). Although the use of three point joints (53) described herein, annularly spaced at equal distances, may be only one or more than three and need not be evenly spaced if there are more than one.

It is possible to arrange a number of such connection points, or joint surfaces, one above the other in the vertical direction (7), see Figure 3, or one next to the other in the horizontal direction (6) or the circumferential direction (8), see Figure 2.

Referring now to Figures 4 to 8, the vessel (10) is made according to the invention through the following steps:

- the wrapper (14) is made of cardboard, which is selectively coated on the inside with a thermally sealed plastic material, such as polyethylene, forming around the mold in the form of a notched cup;

- the casing is then removed from the mold and placed in a receiving element (20) of suitable shape, see Figure 4. This receiving element (20) comprises a circumferential part (21) in the form of a notched cup, see Figure 5, which is in contact with the outer surface. envelope wall (16). At the upper end of the circumferential part (21), the receiving element (20) has a upper flange (23) extending in a radial direction outwards.

In the next step, the annular heating element is placed opposite the inside of the casing (14) and the strips of polyethylene lining are heated to the melting point, see Figure 6.

The pre-assembled cup 12 is then drawn into the casing by suction, until the annular peripheral part of the upper shoulder (32) sits in the casing at the location of the molten strip along the corresponding contact line (3), see also Figure 7.

The annular disc (17), as the first element of a suitable apparatus (11) for making a suitable vessel (10), is then placed inside the body of the cup (22) and comes into firm contact with the inner surface of the body of the cup above the upper shoulder (32). example drawings 6 to 8.

The annulus ring (18), as the second element of the corresponding apparatus (11), contains three radially movable pistons as pressure elements (19), is then placed around the shell (14) at the level of the molten strip and the pistons are moved to press the walls of the shell and cup. together, see for example Figure 6, until they are joined in, for example, three joints-welds (53), ie

52259 Β connection points (1) or joint surfaces (2). Such a weld spot is called a spot weld here, see also Figures 7 and 8.

The disc and ring are then removed and the assembled container is ejected from the receiving element (20).

According to Figure 6, it is not necessary for the upper part of the wall (37) to be in contact with the entire upper part of the wall of the casing (16) and it is possible that there is a small gap between them, just below the outer twisted part (34). Only along the line of contact (3), see drawing 7, which is, for example, located along the upper annulus (32), the corresponding connection points or joint surfaces can be formed by pressing the first element (17) next to the second element (18), see drawings 6 and 7.

In drawing 8, and also in drawing 7, a second, annular element (18) with a piston (19) is illustrated, being placed between the upper surface of the upper flange (23) of the receiving element (20) and the lower end of the outer twisted part. 34), see again Figure 6.

In Figure 7, it is also illustrated that the respective pistons, as pressure elements, (19) are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction (8) around the vessel (10) and that three connection points or joint surfaces are formed. The corresponding pressure elements (19) are movable in the direction of movement (45).

Referring now to drawings 10 to 12, the vessel is generally shown as (10), in various stages of assembly. The vessel (10) is of identical construction as the vessel shown above, except in one. The cup (12) of the vessel is identical to the previously described cup, but the casing (14) has a short cylindrical part (50) formed at the upper end. This cylindrical part (50) of the casing (14) stands integrated with the outer surface (38) of the upper part of the wall (37), see also the previous drawings. The cup (12) and the casing (14) are connected at one or more places (53) in the form of points of the joint (1) or the surface of the joint (2), similar to those on the cup (10), i.e. around the shoulder (32), just off the lower edge (41). Although the cylindrical part (50) is fitted with the cup (12) above the shoulder (32), it should be understood that the part (50) is not connected to the cup body above the ring of the joint (53) and that the corresponding connection points or joint (53) separated from each other by parts of the corresponding contact line (3) which are not connected.

Also, the receiving element (20) of the second solution differs from the first solution in that it has an integrated second element (18), which is formed by a counter-pressure vertical extension (25) extending vertically from the upper surface of the flange upper (23) of the receiving element. (20). The upper part (27) of the extension (25) is in contact with the twisted part (34) from below.

The vessel (10) is made in accordance with the invention, through the following steps:

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- the casing is made of cardboard, which is selectively coated on the inside with a thermally sealed plastic material, such as polyethylene, forming around the mold the shape of a notched cup having a thicker cylindrical part;

- the casing (14) is then removed from the mold and placed in a receiving element (20) of suitable shape, see drawing 10;

- the annulus heating element is placed opposite the inside of the casing (14) and the strip of polyethylene lining is heated to the melting point;

- the previously assembled cup (22) is then pulled, by suction, into the wrapper (14), until the annulus peripheral part of the shoulder (31) of the cup body sits in the wrapper in place of the melted strip, see Figure 11;

- the annulus ring as the first element (17), see Figure 12, including for example three radially movable pistons as pressure elements (19), is then placed inside the cup body (22) at the level of the molten strip and the pistons are moved to press the shell walls and cups together with the outer receiving element (20), and in particular with the corresponding anti-pressure extension (25) until they are joined in, for example, three places or a point weld-joint (53), see Figure 12;

- the ring (17) is then removed and the container (10) is ejected from the receiving element (20).

Each container solution, described herein, is characterized in that it has a thermally sealed plastic liner inside the casing (14) connected to the outer surface of the cup (12) by heat and pressure in several places (53) which may be connection points (1) or joint surfaces. (2). Appropriate junctions extend around, and between, these components. These joints lie on the annular path, see the line of contact (3), near the lower edge of the upper part of the wall (37) of the body of the cup or the upper cylindrical part (50) of the shell (14).