DISPOSABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINER

Abstract

A disposable beverage cup configured to be received by a cup holder having a cup engagement means associated with an opening of said cup holder, said beverage cup comprising: a base; at least one sidewall extending upwardly from said base to define a cup opening; and at least one projection disposed substantially horizontally on an outer surface of said sidewall a predetermined height above said base, said projection extending a predetermined distance outwardly from said sidewall; wherein said at least one projection is configured to engage with said cup holder cup engagement means to retain said cup in said cup holder such that said cup is twisted a predetermined angle about a longitudinal axis of said cup to release said cup projection from engagement with said cup holder engagement means.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to disposable beverage cups and, in particular, disposable beverage cups configured to be retained in a cup holder.

The invention has been developed primarily for use with the sale of beverages to consumers for consumption away from the point of sale and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use.

BACKGROUND

Take away coffee, tea, hot chocolate or other beverages such as carbonated non-alcoholic drinks are regularly sold by street vendors or shops for a consumer to take the beverage away and consume it away from the point of sale. For example, on a given city block in the city of Sydney, Australia, it is typical to find coffee vendors in cafes or shops disposed usually on the ground floor of buildings, or dispensing carts or vans disposed on a street corner or adjacent an office building. Although cafes and some shops often provide a limited number of seats for consumers, it is quite typical for the consumers to purchase a coffee or other beverage from one of these vendors to be taken away and consumed elsewhere, for example, in an office or whilst in transit.

The vendors or coffee shops, for example, typically dispense a high number of take away beverages. Some vendors dispense sugar and other additives into the take away coffees whilst others leave it to the consumer. Typically, take away coffees are dispensed to consumers in paper or Styrofoam cup containers and lids are disposed over the top to prevent spillage. Sometimes the lids include an aperture for drinking the coffee without removing the lid.

It is regularly known that some consumers will purchase take away coffees on behalf of one or more people often to save those other people the inconvenience of a trip to the coffee vendor. To assist a consumer in transporting two or more take away coffee containers to avoid spillage, trays are often used. For example, cup container holders having four apertures spaced apart in a plane. A most common form resembles a paper or fibreboard egg carton with only four apertures and the cups are simply received within the apertures and the walls can form an interference fit with a cup container to retain it in the holder. Such fibreboard egg carton-type holder can include a projection extending along the length of the aperture to more securely retain a cup. Unfortunately, as most coffee cup containers are tapered, it is not unusual for the consumer to angle the tray far enough to cause one or more cup containers to simply fall out in the course of normal carrying events, such as looking at traffic whilst walking, traversing stairs or driving a motor vehicle. In the latter case, it is normal to purchase take-away coffees, for example, from a drive-thru equipped retailer. As such, any container holders desirably firmly retain the containers against vehicle acceleration, deceleration and in cornering.

In another form of coffee cup holder, two spaced apart fibreboard sheets interconnected by flanges or foldable side walls are used. In such trays, the lower sheet is solid and the upper sheet contains four spaced apart apertures to each receive a cup container. In use, the container is unfolded by moving the upper apertured sheet of the holder away from the solid base sheet using the flanges or sidewalls as hinges. The cups are simply disposed in the apertures to sit on the base. Unfortunately, small variations in the size of a coffee cup container will cause the container to not be retained circumferentially about the aperture so that the cup container base is only on the bottom of the holder base. This disadvantageously results in the cup container being held only by the aperture allowing undesirable movement in transit or by the base and not by the aperture allowing the cup to more easily fall out of the aperture.

In order to tackle this problem, foldable fingers or projections extending inwardly from the aperture were employed. These fingers or projections are configured to extend radially inwardly so as to reduce the diameter of the aperture and hence the size of the cup that can be received therethrough. As the cup size increases from the size of the aperture defined by the ends of the fingers or projections, insertion of the cup container causes the fingers hingedly move and to bend downwardly and outwardly in a hinging manner so as to increase the aperture to correspond to the size of the coffee cup and maintain a weak interference type fit.

Unfortunately, as the fingers are bent downwardly, it is found that they can move in response to tilting a tray and the additional bias supplied by a cup on some fingers whilst the tray is under tilt on one side of the aperture reduces the strength of the holding ability of the fingers. Furthermore, once the fingers or projections have been moved to accommodate a disposable coffee cup, the fingers lose some of their bias to return to be substantially planar with the top of the holder which further reduces their strength in holding cup containers.

Whilst such holders are used in such city locations, they are also known to be used at sporting events, for example. When a consumer at a sporting stadium purchases two or more beverages, which are often dispensed in paper or plastic cups with tapered sidewalls, holders as above are used to assist the consumer make their way to their seats without spillage. Environments such as sporting events or where crowds are gathered can be difficult to carry two or more coffees or cold beverages when, for example, stairs need to be negotiated or accidental bumping can occur. In these environments, the above trays do not always perform their functions of retaining disposable cup containers securely for transit from a vendor to a remote location for consumption.

OBJECT

It is an object of the invention to provide a disposable beverage cup container that can be securely held by a cup container holder, or to provide a useful alternative.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a disposable beverage cup configured to be received by a cup holder having a cup engagement means associated with an opening of said cup holder, said beverage cup comprising.

a base;

at least one sidewall extending upwardly from said base to define a cup opening; and

at least one projection disposed substantially horizontally on an outer surface of said sidewall a predetermined height above said base, said projection extending a predetermined distance outwardly from said sidewall;

wherein said at least one projection is configured to engage with said sup holder cup engagement means to retain said cup in said cup holder such that said cup is twisted a predetermined angle about a longitudinal axis of said cup to release said cup projection from engagement with said cup holder engagement means.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a disposable beverage cup configured to be received by a cup holder having a cup engagement means associated with an opening of said cup holder, said beverage cup comprising:

a base;

at least one sidewall extending upwardly from said base to define a cup opening;

at least one depression disposed substantially horizontally in an outer surface of said sidewall a predetermined height above said base, said depression extending a predetermined distance inwardly from said sidewall;

wherein said at least one depression is configured to engage with said cup holder cup engagement means to retain said cup in said cup holder such that said cup is twisted a predetermined angle about a longitudinal axis of said cup to release said cup depression from engagement with said cup holder engagement means.

It can therefore be seen that there is provided a disposable beverage cup container with a projection or a depression which is configured to engage with a cup container holder sidewall or aperture or projection extending therein such that the containers are securely retained in the holders until a consumer twists a cup container about its longitudinal axis so as to disengage it from the holder and allow it to be removed. Furthermore, it can be seen that this engagement allows the use of some conventional disposable beverage cup container holders and allow them to operate in an improved functional capacity to more securely hold disposable beverage cup containers. The advantage provided by engagement of the depression or projection with the cup holder so that twisting of the cup by a relatively small amount to release it from the holder is hitherto unknown and the simple pushing of the container into the holder and the twisting of the container to remove it is particularly advantageous.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a disposable beverage cup container according to a first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cup container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a disposable beverage cup container according to a second preferred embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cup container of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a beverage cup container according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cup container of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a beverage cup container according to a fourth preferred embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a cup container of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a beverage cup container according to a fifth preferred embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cup container of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a prior art disposable beverage cup container holder for use in retaining a disposable beverage cup container according to any one of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another prior art disposable beverage cup container holder for use with the disposable beverage cup containers of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a beverage container cup of FIGS. 9 and 10 showing the cup container being twisted for removal from the holder of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective of a beverage container cup of FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the cup container being twisted for removal from the holder of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be appreciated that throughout the description of the preferred embodiments, like reference numerals are used to refer to like components.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a disposable beverage cup container 1 configured to be received by a cup holder 10. The cup holder 10 includes an engagement means 14 associated with an opening 13 of the cup holder 10. Two prior art cup holders 10 are shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 respectively.

The beverage cup container 1 includes a base 2 and a single sidewall 3 upwardly extending from the base to define a beverage cup container opening 4. The sidewall 3 of the beverage container cup 1 is tapered to reduce from the beverage cup opening 4 down to the base 2. It will be appreciated that the sidewall 3 can be straight and can be non-circular in cross-section or be formed from two or more sidewall sub-components (not illustrated). Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the beverage cup container 1 can be formed from paper or fibreboard, Styrofoam, plastic or other common material. Yet further the container 1 can be formed from a single or multiple layers, for example, double wall container cups 1.

A plurality of essentially horizontally extending projections 6 is disposed on the outer surface of the sidewall 3. The substantially horizontally extending projections are longitudinally spaced apart the sidewall 3 of the beverage container 1. The projections 6 preferably extend a distance of at least half the wall thickness of the sidewall 3 of the beverage container 1, however, this is not clearly seen in the drawings.

At least one of the projections 6 on the sidewall 3 is configured to engage with the cup holder engagement means 14 so as to retain the cup in the cup holder in a secure manner.

In order to remove the beverage cup container 1 from the cup holder 10 once the projection 6 is engaged with the cup holder engagement means 14, the beverage cup container 1 must be twisted by a predetermined angle, for example several degrees depending on the configuration of the depression 6, in order to cause the projection 6 to become disengaged from the cup holder engagement means 14. In the embodiments shown in the drawings, the container 1 is longitudinally twisted by an angle of between 5° and 40° to release it from engagement with holder engagement means 14. However, it will be appreciated that any preferred twisting angle from 2° or 3° to greater than 50° can be required to remove the container 1.

To retain the beverage cup container 1 in the cup holder 10, no twisting is necessary and the container 1 is simply longitudinally slid into the cup holder 10 through the cup holder aperture 13.

In the beverage cup container 1 preferred embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the projections are substantially straight horizontally across the sidewall 3. In the third preferred embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, the projections are slightly curved in an opposite direction to the slight curvature of the projection of the beverage cup container 1 shown in the first preferred embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a fourth preferred embodiment of a beverage cup container 1 where the projections 6 are formed from folds. In this embodiment, the projections are not as prominent as the projections of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 6, however, it will be appreciated that the projections 6 are still configured to engage with cup holder engagement means 14 in the same way as the first three preferred embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 6 so that the cup container 1 needs to be twisted to disengage it from the engagement means 14. It will be appreciated that in the fourth preferred embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, the beverage cup container 1 also includes substantially vertically extending projections 30 which are purely ornamental.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a beverage cup container according to a fifth preferred embodiment. This embodiment is similar to the beverage cup container of the fourth preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 except that no vertical projections 30 are included on the outer sidewall 3.

Turning to FIGS. 13 and 14, there is shown the insertion of a preferred beverage cup container 1 into cup holder 10 according to FIGS. 11 and 12 respectively. Upon insertion, a projection 6 of the beverage cup container 1 engages with the cup holder engagement means 14. This secures the beverage cup container 1 within the cup holder 10.

In order to disengage the beverage cup container 1 from the cup holder 10 to allow the beverage cup container to be removed, the beverage cup container 1 is rotated about a longitudinal axis of the beverage cup container 1 to mechanically disengage a projection 6 from the cup holder engagement means 14. It will be appreciated that the amount of twisting can vary between a mere few degrees to several tens of degrees depending on the particular cup holder engagement means 14 and the projection 6.

It will be appreciated that the projection 6 on the beverage cup container 1 can extend up from the base only a predetermined height above the base 2 towards the beverage cup container opening 4. In this way, the projection will only need to be as high from the base as the cup holder opening 13 is disposed above the cup holder base 11.

It will also be appreciated that the projection 6 can extend substantially circumferentially or about only part of the sidewall 3 (not illustrated). For example, the projections could extend around 90° of the sidewall 3. In this way, the cup holder engagement means 14 will retainingly engage with the projection 6 only when the projection 6 is substantially facing the cup holder engagement means 14.

It will be appreciated that although the preferred embodiments of the disposable beverage cup container 1 include a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart projections each substantially horizontally extending along the sidewall 3, a minimum of one projection 6 is required but a plurality are employed for aesthetic purposes or to allow cup holder engagement means 14 to be disposed at different heights above the cup holder base 11. It will be appreciated that although the preferred embodiments of the beverage cup container 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 10 include a plurality of longitudinally spaced projections 6 forming a corrugated surface of the sidewall 3, it will be appreciated that a single helically extending projection disposed on the outside of the sidewall 3 can also be used. In such embodiments, although not illustrated, it will be appreciated that the single helically wound projection could extend a predetermined distance around the sidewall 3 as well as having a pitch to ensure it extends up the sidewall 3 a predetermined distance.

Whilst the preferred embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 10 show a beverage container cup 1 and projection 6 configured for engagement with a cup holder engagement means 14, it will be appreciated that the projection 6 can be replaced with a depression 5 which also extends substantially horizontally around the sidewall 3 and extends inwardly a predetermined distance into the sidewall 3.

As with the preferred embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 10, the depression 5 is configured to engage with the cup holder engagement means 14. That is, the projection can be built up on the outside of the sidewall 3 of the cup container 1 to implicitly create depressions 5, or the depression 5 can be built into the sidewall 3 of the beverage cup container 1. The depression can extend only a predetermined distance longitudinally up the sidewall 3, or it could extend substantially all or part of the way circumferentially around the sidewall 3. Although not illustrated, it is most preferred that the depression 5 extends a distance of at least a third of the thickness of the sidewall 3 thereinto.

The foregoing describes only preferred embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope f the present invention. For example, cup container 1 can be tapered in the longitudinal direction as shown, or it can have straight sidewalls. The cup container 1 can include both projection 6 and depressions 5 for engagement with a cup holder engagement means 14 as preferred. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that in the case of the corrugated sidewalls 3 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be formed from longitudinally spaced apart and substantially horizontally extending depressions 5 so that the substantially horizontally extending projections 6 are artifacts thereof or vice versa where the depressions 5 are artifacts of the addition of projections 6. Further, it can be seen in the embodiment of FIG. 14 that a plurality of projections 6 can simultaneously engage with cup holder engagement means 14.

The term “comprising” (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of “including” or “having” and not in the exclusive sense of “consisting only of”.

Claims

1. A disposable beverage cup configured to be received by a cup holder having a cup engagement means associated with an opening of said cup holder, said beverage cup comprising:

a base;

at least one sidewall extending upwardly from said base to define a cup opening; and

at least one projection disposed substantially horizontally on an outer surface of said sidewall a predetermined height above said base, said projection extending a predetermined distance outwardly from said sidewall;

wherein said at least one projection is configured to engage with said cup holder cup engagement means to retain said cup in said cup holder such that said cup is twisted a predetermined angle about a longitudinal axis of said cup to release said cup projection from engagement with said cup holder engagement means.

2. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 1 wherein said cup projection is disposed on said outer surface of said sidewall not higher than half way between said base and said cup.

3. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 1 wherein said cup projection extending from said sidewall outer surface extends substantially circumferentially about part of all said sidewall.

4. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 3 including a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart projections each circumferentially disposed about part or all of said sidewall.

5. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 1 wherein said predetermined twisting angle about said longitudinal axis of said cup is between 2° and 55°.

6. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 3 including a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart projections forming a corrugated outer surface of said sidewall.

7. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 3 wherein said projection is helically disposed about said outer surface of said sidewall such that a single continuous projection is disposed on said outer surface of said sidewall from adjacent said base a predetermined distance from-said base toward said cup opening.

8. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 1 including decorative projections or depressions on said sidewall outer surface of said cup.

9. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 1 wherein said projection extends outwardly a distance of at least half the thickness of said sidewall.

10. A disposable beverage cup configured to be received by a cup holder having a cup engagement means associated with an opening of said cup holder, said beverage cup comprising:

a base;

at least one sidewall extending upwardly from said base to define a cup opening;

at least one depression disposed substantially horizontally in an outer surface of said sidewall a predetermined height above said base, said depression extending a predetermined distance inwardly from said sidewall;

wherein said at least one depression is configured to engage with said cup holder cup engagement means to retain said cup in said cup holder such that said cup is twisted a predetermined angle about a longitudinal axis of said cup to release said cup depression from engagement with said cup holder engagement means.

11. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 10 wherein said cup depression disposed on said outer surface of said sidewall not higher than half way between said base and said cup.

12. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 10 wherein said cup depression extending in said sidewall outer surface extends substantially circumferentially about part of all said sidewall.

13. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 12 including a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart depressions each circumferentially disposed about part of all of said sidewall.

14. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 10 wherein said predetermined twisting angle about said longitudinal axis of said cup is between 2° and 55°.

15. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 12 including a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart depressions forming a substantially corrugated outer surface in said sidewall.

16. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 12 wherein said depression helically disposed about said outer surface of said sidewall such that a single continuous depression is disposed in said outer surface of said sidewall from adjacent said base upwardly a predetermined distance toward said cup opening.

17. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 10 including decorative depressions and/or projections on said sidewall outer surface of said cup.

18. A disposable beverage cup according to claim 10 wherein said depression extends a distance of at least a third of the thickness of said sidewall.