US20030111468A1

US20030111468A1 - Beverage container

Info

Publication number: US20030111468A1
Application number: US10/014,667
Authority: US
Inventors: Teng Kao
Original assignee: I Mei Foods Co Ltd
Current assignee: I-MEI FOODS Co Ltd; I Mei Foods Co Ltd
Priority date: 2001-12-14
Filing date: 2001-12-14
Publication date: 2003-06-19

Abstract

A beverage container includes a cup having a configuration suitable for nesting and a cap removably covering a top opening of the cup. The cup is provided above a bottom with a predetermined length of diameter-reduced section, and the cap is provided near a top center with a round recess for fitly engaging with the diameter-reduced section of the cup. The cap may be removed from the loaded cup and positioned on a tabletop with the round recess facing upward, so that the diameter-reduced section of the cup may be inserted into the round recess of the cap to stably hold the cup to an upright position.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a beverage container, and more particularly to a beverage container having a cap that could be removed from a top opening of a cup of the container to stably engage with a diameter-reduced bottom section of the cup, so as to stably hold the cup in an upright position.

Most beverage containers for holding ice cream, juice, and soda pop include a cup and a cap removably covering a top opening of the cup. In designing such beverage containers, the following two important factors must be taken into consideration. First, the cup should have a configuration suitable for nesting in order to reduce packing and transporting volume and storing space of multiple cups. Second, the cap should be able to reliably seal the top opening of the cup to prevent spilt beverage when the cup is moved.

As a matter of fact, it is also very important to prevent the cup from easily tilting over when the cap is removed from the cup. When the cup is so designed that it is suitable for nesting, it usually includes a downward tapered body. That is, the cup usually has a larger top opening and a smaller bottom, and this shape naturally prevents the cup from stably stand upright.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a beverage container including a cup and a cap removably covering the cup. The cup is provided above a bottom with a diameter-reduced section upward extended from the bottom by a predetermined length, and the cap is integrally molded from a plastic material to include a round top central recess adapted to fitly engage with the diameter-reduced section of the cup. When the cap is removed from the cup, it may be positioned on a tabletop with the round recess facing upward to engage with the diameter-reduced section of the cup. The cap provides an increased contact area between the cup and the tabletop and therefore enables the whole beverage container to stably stand upright without being easily tilted over.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the round recess of the cap includes an inner wall surface having a plurality of dents spaced thereon. The spaced dents enable the inner wall surface of the round recess to have suitable elastic shrinkage and restoring force to fitly clamp the diameter-reduced section of the cup and hold the same in the upright position.

In implementing the present invention, the cap of the beverage container includes a radially inward and upward inclined supporting section, and the round recess is integrally connected to an upper edge of the supporting section to obtain an enhanced strength for stably holding the cup upright.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein [0007]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a beverage container according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein a cap thereof is partially cutaway to show a cross section thereof; [0008]
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1; [0009]
FIG. 3 is an assembled sectional view of FIG. 1; [0010]
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a cup of the beverage container of the present invention is uprightly held to a top of the cap of the container; and [0011]
FIG. 5 shows the cups of the beverage containers of the present invention are nested to occupy only a small space.[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. [0013] 1 to 3 that are assembled perspective view, exploded perspective view, and assembled sectional view, respectively, of a beverage container according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the beverage container includes a cup 10 and a cap 20 removably covered onto a top opening 11 of the cup 10. The cup 10 has a body downward tapered from the top opening 11 toward a bottom 12 to facilitate nesting of multiple cups 10, so that only a small space is needed to store the unused cups 10. The top opening 11 of the cup 10 is provided around a rim with a radially outward extended flange 13 and above the bottom 12 with a diameter-reduced section 14. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the reduced section 14 is upward extended from the bottom 12 by a predetermined distance A and is integrally connected to the body of the cup 10 via a radially inward slant section 15.
The [0014] cap 20 includes a radially outward extended lower peripheral edge 21, a radially outward projected annular channel 22 located slightly above the peripheral edge 21 and adapted to engage with the flange 13 of the cup 10 to openably seal the cup 10, and an axially extended round recess 23 located near a central area of the cap 20. In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, the cap 20 also includes a radially inward and upward inclined supporting section 24 to integrally connect the annular channel 22 to the round recess 23 and to increase a supporting strength of the cap 20 when the same is connected to the reduced section 14 of the cup 10 having beverage contained therein.
It is preferable the [0015] round recess 23 is provided along an inner wall surface 25 with a plurality of spaced dents 26. Since the cap 20 is usually formed of a plastic material through vacuum molding, the round recess 23 includes a specific radial thickness in a horizontal direction but is still close to a hollow structure. This structure causes the inner wall surface 25 of the round recess 23 to slightly shrink in a radially outward direction when it is subjected to a load. However, an inherent elastic restoring force of the plastic material would return the round recess 23 to its initial condition after the load to elastically clamp around the reduced section 14 of the cup 10 and hold the cup 10 in an upright position on the cap 20. The dents 26 spaced along the inner wall surface 25 of the round recess 23 enable easier radially elastic shrinkage of the inner wall surface 25 under a load and thereby allow easy engagement of the reduced section 14 of the cup 10 with the round recess 23.
Please refer to FIG. 4. When the [0016] cap 20 is removed from the cup 10 of the beverage container of the present invention, and the cup 10 having a beverage contained therein is to be held in an upright position, a user may place the cap 20 on a plane, such as a tabletop, with the peripheral edge 21 of the cap 20 in contact with the tabletop and the round recess 23 facing upward.
The [0017] cup 10 may then be positioned on the cap 20 with the diameter-reduced section 14 inserted into the round recess 23 of the cap 20. The spaced dents 26 on the inner wall surface 25 of the recess 23 enable the inner wall surface 25 to radially outward shrink under the weight of the loaded cup 10 to allow easy insertion of the reduced section 14 into the round recess 23. And, due to the elastic restoring force of the plastic material forming the cap 20, the round recess 23 is radially inward expanded to firmly clamp around the reduced section 14. That is, the whole cup 10 having a beverage contained therein is temporarily connected to the cap 20 that has a peripheral edge 21 larger than the bottom 12 of the cup 10, enabling the cup 10 and the tabletop to have an increased contact area between them for the cup 10 to stably stand in an upright position without being easily unexpectedly tilted over.
Since the [0018] cup 10 of the beverage container of the present invention has a downward tapered shape, a plurality of the cups 10 could be nested as shown in FIG. 5. The flange 13 of the cup 10 is so designed that it also acts as means to prevent two cups 10 from being overtightly nested.
The present invention has been described with a preferred embodiment thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiment can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims. [0019]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A beverage container, comprising:

a cup being provided around a top opening with a radially outward extended flange, and above a bottom with a diameter-reduced section that axially upward extends from said bottom by a predetermined distance; and said cup having a configuration suitable for nesting in another one of said cup; and

a cap for removably covering said top opening of said cup and including an integrally molded, radially outward projected annular channel adapted to fitly engage with said flange of said cup for openably sealing said cup, and a round recess formed near a top center of said cap adapted to engage with said diameter-reduced section of said cup and thereby enabling said cup to stably stand upright on said cap.

2. The beverage container as claimed in claim 1, wherein said round recess of said cap includes an inner wall surface, around which a plurality of dents are spaced.

3. The beverage container as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cap includes a radially inward and upward inclined supporting section extended from said annular channel, and said round recess being integrally connected to an upper edge of said supporting section.