DRINKING CUP STRUCTURE

Abstract

A drinking cup may include a cup body, and an inverted V-shaped partition separates the cup body from a bottom end thereof to form two symmetrical compartments at both sides of the partition, and the two compartments are connected at top portions to form a top edge which is connected to an inner edge of an opening of the cup body at both ends thereof, thereby separating the opening into two symmetrical portions. A protruding bar slightly protruding along a middle line of the top edge is configured to be melted by a heat press head of a sealing machine when sealing a sealing film on the opening of the cup body. With the two separated compartments, a customer can have two kinds of drinks by only one drinking cup, which is greener and allows the customer to have more choices.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a drinking cup structure, and more particularly to a drinking cup with two separated compartments allowing a user to have two different drinks in the meantime.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For convenience, a drink sold in the market is usually filled in a plastic or paper cup, and the cup is sealed by a sealing film to prevent the drink from spilling out of the cup.

However, the conventional drinking cup is disadvantageous because: the cup only has a compartment to fill with one kind of drink, and when people want to have two kinds of drinks, he needs to buy and carry two cups of drinks, which is inconvenient and may result in waste when drinks are residual. Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved design for a drinking cup to overcome the problems presented above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a drinking cup which has a cup body, and an inverted V-shaped partition separates the cup body from a bottom end thereof to form two symmetrical compartments at both sides of the partition, and the two compartments are connected at top portions to form a top edge which is connected to an inner edge of an opening of the cup body at both ends thereof, thereby separating the opening into two symmetrical portions. Furthermore, each of the compartments has a cup bottom, and an outer periphery of the opening has a flange. Since the drinking cup is integrally formed through a method of injection molding, a top surface of the drinking cup and the top edge of the partition may have uneven portions, thus affecting sealing effect. A protruding bar slightly protruding along a middle line of the top edge is configured to provide a support for a heat press head of a sealing machine when sealing a sealing film on the opening of the cup body. The heated heat press head is configured to melt the protruding bar to smooth a top surface of the top edge of the partition such that the sealing film is configured to firmly attach on the top edge of the partition and the flange to prevent drinks in the two compartments from spilling out or being mixed. Moreover, a bottom end of the partition is separated to form a recessed portion, thus allowing the drinking cup stackable.

Comparing with conventional drinking cup, the present invention is advantageous because: (i) with the two separated compartments, a customer can have two kinds of drinks by only one drinking cup, which is greener and allows the customer to have more choices; (ii) with the protruding bar and the annular protruding portion which are configured to be borne against and melted by the heat press head of the sealing machine, the opening of the drinking cup is configured to be firmly sealed by the sealing film thus preventing drinks in the two compartments from being mixed or spilling out of the drinking cup; (iii) the drinking cup is configured to be sealed by the sealing film or to be covered by the cup lid, which has high applicability; and (iv) by respectively engaging the engaging space and the clamping groove with the flange of the drinking cup and the top edge of the partition, the cup lid is configured to be firmly secured on the drinking cup to prevent drinks from spilling out of the drinking cup.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional assembly view of a drinking cup of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a heat press head of a sealing machine prepares to attach on a top portion of the drinking cup in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating the heat press head heats a protruding bar of a partition of the drinking cup in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a sealing film is firmly sealed on the drinking cup of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional assembly view of another embodiment of the drinking cup in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of another embodiment illustrating the sealing film is firmly sealed on the drinking cup of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional assembly view of a cup lid of the drinking cup in the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional assembly view from another angle of the cup lid of the drinking cup in the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating the cup lid is secured on the drinking cup of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating one of two top portions of the cup lid is selectively opened to allow a user to drink the drinking in a compartment of the drinking cup in the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of the presently exemplary device provided in accordance with aspects of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be prepared or utilized. It is to be understood, rather, that the same or equivalent functions and components may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods, devices and materials similar or equivalent to those described can be used in the practice or testing of the invention, the exemplary methods, devices and materials are now described.

All publications mentioned are incorporated by reference for the purpose of describing and disclosing, for example, the designs and methodologies that are described in the publications that might be used in connection with the presently described invention. The publications listed or discussed above, below and throughout the text are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.

In order to further understand the goal, characteristics and effect of the present invention, a number of embodiments along with the drawings are illustrated as following:

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the present invention provides a drinking cup (10) which has a cup body (13), and an inverted V-shaped partition (11) separates the cup body (13) from a bottom end thereof to form two symmetrical compartments (14) at both sides of the partition (11), and the two compartments (14) are connected at top portions to form a top edge (111) which is connected to an inner edge of an opening of the cup body (13) at both ends thereof, thereby separating the opening into two symmetrical portions. Furthermore, each of the compartments (14) has a cup bottom (12), and an outer periphery of the opening has a flange (15). Since the drinking cup (10) is integrally formed through a method of injection molding, a top surface of the drinking cup (10) and the top edge (111) of the partition (11) may have uneven portions, thus affecting sealing effect. A protruding bar (112) slightly protruding along a middle line of the top edge (111) is configured to provide a support for a heat press head (31) of a sealing machine (30) when sealing a sealing film (20) on the opening of the cup body (13). The heated heat press head (31) is configured to melt the protruding bar (112) to smooth a top surface of the top edge (111) of the partition (11) such that the sealing film (20) is configured to firmly attach on the top edge (111) of the partition (11) and the flange (15) to prevent drinks in the two compartments from spilling out or being mixed. Moreover, a bottom end of the partition (11) is separated to form a recessed portion (16), thus allowing the drinking cup (10) stackable.

In one embodiment, a top surface of the flange (15) has an annular protruding portion (151) which is formed along a middle line thereof (as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6) and is configured to be melted by the heat press head (31) of the sealing machine (30), thereby smoothing the top surface of the flange (15) and allowing the sealing film (20) to firmly attach thereon.

In actual application, two different kinds of drinks can respectively fill in the two compartments (14) of the drinking cup (10), and the opening of the cup body (13) is configured to be firmly sealed by the sealing film (20). A user can use one or two straws to penetrate the sealing film (20) to have the drinks in the compartments (14).

In another embodiment, the drinking cup (10) is also applied to the kinds of drinks needing to add sugar or cream by replacing the sealing film (20) with a cup lid (40) (as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9). An outer periphery of the cup lid (40) has a double-layer annular lid edge (41) which has an inner layer (411) and an outer layer (412), and an annular engaging space (413) facing down is formed between the inner layer (411) and the outer layer (412). The engaging space (41) further has an engaging edge (414) protruding from the outer layer (412), and the inner layer (411) is directly connected to an annular groove (42). A clamping groove (43) formed at a lower surface of the cup lid (40) passes through a center of the cup lid (40) and connects the annular groove (42) at two ends thereof. The clamping groove (43) further has two elastic pieces (44) formed on two lateral walls thereof. Thus, two closed top portions (45) of the cup lid (40) are respectively formed at two sides of the clamping groove (43) and surrounded by the annular groove (42). Moreover, a crease (46) is formed along a middle line of the clamping groove (43) to connect the lid edge (41) at two ends thereof. When the cup lid (40) is used, the cup lid (40) is secured on the drinking cup (10) by respectively engaging the engaging space (413) and the clamping groove (43) with the flange (15) of the drinking cup (10) and the top edge (111) of the partition (11) such that the two top portions (45) of the cup lid (40), which are respectively aligned with the two separated portions of the opening of the cup body (13), are configured to prevent drinks from spilling out of the drinking cup (10). On the other hand, referring to FIG. 10, through the crease (46), the two top portions (45) are configured to be selectively opened to allow a user to have drinks inside the compartments (14).

Comparing with conventional drinking cup, the present invention is advantageous because: (i) with the two separated compartments (14), a customer can have two kinds of drinks by only one drinking cup (10), which is greener and allows the customer to have more choices; (ii) with the protruding bar (112) and the annular protruding portion (151) which are configured to be borne against and melted by the heat press head (31) of the sealing machine (30), the opening of the drinking cup (10) is configured to be firmly sealed by the sealing film (20) thus preventing drinks in the two compartments (14) from being mixed or spilling out of the drinking cup (10); (iii) the drinking cup (10) is configured to be sealed by the sealing film (20) or to be covered by the cup lid (40), which has high applicability; and (iv) by respectively engaging the engaging space (413) and the clamping groove (43) with the flange (15) of the drinking cup (10) and the top edge (111) of the partition (11), the cup lid (40) is configured to be firmly secured on the drinking cup (10) to prevent drinks from spilling out of the drinking cup (10).

Having described the invention by the description and illustrations above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description, but includes any equivalents.

Claims

1. A drinking cup comprising:

a cup body, and an inverted V-shaped partition separating the cup body from a bottom end thereof to form two symmetrical compartments at both sides of the partition, and the two compartments connected at top portions to form a top edge which is connected to an inner edge of an opening of the cup body at both ends thereof, thereby separating the opening into two symmetrical portions; each of the compartments having a cup bottom, and an outer periphery of the opening comprising a flange; a protruding bar protruding along a middle line of the top edge, and a bottom end of the partition separated to form a recessed portion, thus allowing the drinking cup stackable.

2. The drinking cup of claim 1, wherein a top surface of the flange has an annular protruding portion which is formed along a middle line thereof.

3. The drinking cup of claim 1, wherein a sealing machine is configured to seal a sealing film on a top portion of the cup body through a heat press head, and the heated heat press head is configured to melt the protruding bar to smooth an uneven top surface of the top edge of the partition causing by a manufacturing process of injection molding such that the sealing film is configured to firmly attach on the top edge of the partition and the flange to prevent drinks in the two compartments from spilling out or being mixed.

4. The drinking cup of claim 1, wherein a cup lid covers on the top portion of the cup body.

5. The drinking cup of claim 4, wherein an outer periphery of the cup lid has a double-layer annular lid edge which has an inner layer and an outer layer, and an annular engaging space facing down is formed between the inner layer and the outer layer; the engaging space further has an engaging edge protruding from the outer layer, and the inner layer is directly connected to an annular groove; a clamping groove formed at a lower surface of the cup lid passes through a center of the cup lid and connects the annular groove at two ends thereof, and the clamping groove further has two elastic pieces formed on two lateral walls thereof; two closed top portions of the cup lid are respectively formed at two sides of the clamping groove and surrounded by the annular groove, and a crease is formed along a middle line of the clamping groove to connect the lid edge at two ends thereof.