One-time-use insulating container

Abstract

A disposable insulating container is disclosed in which a container body and a container bottom face are formed in a body and in which folds in the vertical direction are formed in a body on the outside surface of the container body in a tapered disposable container whose upper side is wide and lower side is narrow. When a beverage, such as hot coffee, is placed in the container, direct conduction of heat to the hand that holds the container is shielded, so that the hot beverage can be safely and simply drunk without a separate member. Also, there is an insulation effect for preventing the discharge of the temperature of the beverage in the container to the outside, so that the temperature and taste of the beverage can be maintained for a long time.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 or 365 to Republic of Korea, Application No. 2007-0015397, filed Sep. 14, 2007. The entire teachings of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to a disposable container. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a disposable insulating container that can be completely held by hand and used for drinking without a separate member when drinking a hot beverage such as coffee or tea.

BACKGROUND

With various kinds of teas and coffee becoming favorite beverages, many automatic vending machines have been supplied so that these beverages can be easily drunk, and many take-out specialty stores have opened. In general, disposable containers are used as containers used for drinking that hold these beverages, and the number of such containers being used has increased greatly.

In conventional disposable containers, only a paper sheet is rolled to form a cup. When a beverage, such as hot coffee, that is 95° C. or hotter is put into the cup, the heat is directly conducted to the hand that holds the container, potentially causing one to spill the beverage due to the shock. As a result, the human body is burnt, or a hand or clothing is soiled. Also, the temperature of the beverage in the container is not maintained for a long time.

Recently, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a component having an insulation effect has been developed. However, this component is a insulating member that is attached to the inside or outside of a container. The insulating member is separated as a result of high temperature, and the insulating member must be attached by a separate process. Thus, the production process is complicated, and the product cost is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a disposable insulating container in which a container body and a container bottom face are formed in a body and in which folds in the vertical direction are formed in a body on the outside surface of the container body in a tapered disposable container whose upper side is wide and lower side is narrow. Thus, when a beverage, such as hot coffee, is placed in it, the direct conduction of heat to the hand that holds the container is shielded, so that the burning of the human body or the soiling of a hand or clothing as a result of spilling of the hot beverage is prevented. Thereby, the hot beverage can be safely and simply drunk, while the temperature of the beverage in the container can be maintained for a long time.

Embodiments of the present invention are characterized by the fact that in a tapered disposable container whose upper side is wide and lower side is narrow, a container body and a container bottom face are formed in a body; and folds in the vertical direction are formed in a body on the outside surface of the above-mentioned container body.

Also, further embodiments of the present invention are characterized by the fact that the above-mentioned folds in the vertical direction are formed in a body in only part of the upper side of the outside surface of the above-mentioned container body.

Additionally, still further embodiments of the present invention are characterized by the fact that in the above-mentioned folds in the vertical direction, cross sections with a shape having ridges and valleys are continuously and adjacently formed in a ring shape.

According to the disposable insulating container of the present invention, when a beverage such as coffee is placed in it, direct conduction of heat to the hand that holds the container is shielded, so that burning of the human body or the soiling of a hand or cloth due to spilling of the hot beverage is prevented. As a result, the hot beverage can be safely and simply drunk, while the temperature of the beverage in the container can be maintained for a long time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an oblique view showing a disposable insulating container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a disposable insulating container according to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a disposable insulating container according to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing a disposable insulating container according to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of A-A′ line of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating, in cross section, a plurality of alternating protrusions and gaps forming a ring shape defined by the folds according to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is explained as follows in detail referring to the attached figures.

As shown in FIGS. 1-5 in a tapered disposable container 1 whose upper side is wide and lower side is narrow, a container body 2 and a container bottom face 3 are formed in a body, and folds 4 in the vertical direction are formed in a body on the outside surface of the above-mentioned container body.

With this constitution, the above-mentioned container body 2 and the above-mentioned container bottom face 3 are formed in a body by compression-molding a composition as the material of the container, so as to prevent leakage of a beverage from a gap between the body and the bottom face of the container, and the problem of an insulating separating member due to high temperature can be solved.

Also, in take-out specialty stores, generally, thick paper is inserted into a disposable cup, and a beverage is placed in the cup. However, embodiments of the present invention can remove this complication or inconvenience. In other words, the protrusions formed by the above-mentioned folds in the vertical direction disperse the conducted heat and minimize the part of contact between a hand and the container when the container is held by a hand. Thus, when there is a hot beverage such as coffee in the container, heat transfer to the hand is minimized, and the hot beverage can be simply drunk while holding the container without a separate member. Meanwhile, since discharge of the temperature of the beverage in the container to the outside is prevented and there is an insulation effect, an appropriate temperature and taste of the beverage can be maintained for a long time.

The above-mentioned folds 4 in the vertical direction are characterized by being formed in a body through compression molding instead of a component in which the folds are attached to the outside surface or inside surface of the above-mentioned container 1. With formation of the above-mentioned folds 4 in the vertical direction having an insulation or warmth-retaining function in a body by compression molding, an insulating member attached to the inside or outside of the container is not separated by high temperature, and a separate manufacturing process for attaching the insulating member is not required.

As shown in FIGS. 1-5, the above-mentioned folds 4 in the vertical direction are formed in a body in only part of the upper side of the outside surface of the above-mentioned container body 2.

The above-mentioned folds 4 in the vertical direction can be formed on the entire outside surface of the container body 2; however, since it is typical to hold the upper side rather than the lower side of the container when the disposable container is held, the above-mentioned folds 4 in the vertical direction can also be formed in a body in only the upper side of the outside surface of the container body.

Additionally, in the above-mentioned folds 4 in the vertical direction, cross sections with a shape having protrusions and gaps as shown in FIG. 6 are continuously adjoined and form protrusions in a ring shape. In other words, since the cross section has an arc shape with the same radius and the container is tapered so that its upper side is wide and its lower side is narrow, the gaps between the protrusions gradually narrows toward the lower side, and the protrusions contact each other at the lowermost side, unlike the case where an insulating member is attached to the inside or outside of the container.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A disposable insulating container, comprising:

a container body having an open end and a closed end, the closed end formed by a container bottom face, the container body being tapered having a wide upper portion and a narrow lower portion; and

the container body further comprising insulating folds formed in a vertical direction on the outside surface of the container body.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the insulating folds in the vertical direction are formed in the upper portion of the outside surface of the container body.

3. The container of claim 1 wherein the insulating folds define, in cross section, a plurality of alternating protrusions and gaps forming a ring shape.

4. The container of claim 2 wherein the folds define, in cross section, a plurality of alternating protrusions and gaps forming a ring shape.

5. A container, comprising:

a container body having an open end and a closed end, the closed end formed by a container bottom face; and

the container body further comprising insulating folds formed in a common direction on the outside surface of the container body.

6. The container of claim 5, wherein the container body comprising an upper portion and a lower portion, the insulating folds being formed in the upper portion on the outside surface of the container body.

7. The container of claim 5 wherein the insulating folds are formed in a vertical direction on the outside surface of the container body.

8. The container of claim 7, wherein the upper portion of the container body is wide and the lower portion of the container body is narrow.

9. The container of claim 5, wherein the insulating folds define, in cross section, a plurality of alternating protrusions and gaps forming a ring shape.

10. The container of claim 6, wherein the insulating folds define, in cross section, a plurality of alternating protrusions and gaps forming a ring shape.