DISPOSABLE CONTAINER

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to disposable containers and in particular those which have insulating properties. Although it will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to disposable or take-away coffee cups for drinking hot coffee or tea, it is to be understood that this is not to be taken as a limitation of the scope of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that the applications of the invention include use on or in items such as for example cups, bowls, mugs and plates.

Background to the Invention

The disposable cup, generally constructed from paper, is now very popular for drinking tea and coffee, especially for take-away coffee. The disposable cup is easy to use and is low in cost, but it has certain weaknesses. Firstly, during manufacture of the cup, the sides and bottom of the cup are formed by a compressively heat sealing a seal region of the overlapping paper, to achieve a closure to stop the coffee or tea from leaking out. The compressing pressure and the heat seal temperature are extremely critical for this process. The critical compressing pressure and temperature are difficult to maintain at all times during the process, and as a result, the sides and bottom of the paper cup may be caused not to seal properly, inducing leaks in use. Secondly, when the paper cup is used to serve hot coffee or tea, the temperature will directly transfer through the paper wall to a user's fingers, so it becomes uncomfortable or painful to hold.

The present invention seeks to ameliorate one or more of the abovementioned disadvantages.

Summary of the Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a disposable open-topped container which includes: a main container body comprising an interior wall and an exterior wall, each wall being spaced apart from the other over a substantial portion of the wall element so as to form at least one insulating void between the interior and exterior walls.

Preferably the interior wall is continuous. The arrangement of the interior wall may be such that it is seamless so that leaking through the interior wall is inhibited, whether into the one or more insulating voids or through the exterior wall.

Preferably the interior wall is at least a portion of a plastic container body which when the main container body is assembled, is disposed substantially on an interior face of the exterior wall. Preferably the plastic container body is a unitary moulded body.

Preferably the exterior wall is in the form of at least a portion of a second container body of any suitable material, but in a preferred embodiment the second cup body is paper. The exterior or interior wall may be corrugated or have a number of ribs so as to define a number of insulating voids.

Furthermore, it is preferred that the main container body includes a rim which is continuous for increased user comfort. Preferably the rim is a flange portion of the interior wall which when installed extends over a rim of the second cup body and includes a return to connect the first cup body to the second cup body.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of assembling a disposable open-topped container, the method including the steps of: placing a first open-topped container body into a second open-topped container body so that when assembled a substantial portion of the first open-topped container body is spaced from the second open-topped container body so as to form at least one insulating void between the

first and second open-topped container bodies.

Preferably the plastic is formed by plastic thermoforming or injection moulding so as to facilitate a continuous surface.

The insulating voids may be of any suitable shape. Thus, the arrangements of preferred embodiments may be that the interior and/or exterior walls are corrugated or scalloped, so as to form cross-hatched, diagonal, vertical, circumferential, lumpy or other shapes.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In order to enable a clearer understanding of the invention, a preferred embodiment will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings and in those drawings:

Figure 1 is an isometric view from below and one side of an outer layer of a disposable cup which is one component of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an isometric view from below and one side of an inner layer of a disposable cup which is one component of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a section view in elevation of a complete disposable cup wherein the inner layer is shown disposed inside the outer layer in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a side elevation view of a complete disposable cup which is a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a section view of the complete cup of Figure 4 through A-A;

Figure 6 is a section view of the complete cup of Figure 4 through B-B; and

Figure 7 is an isometric view of the outer layer of Figure 4 from above and one side.

Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment

Referring to Figures 1 - 3 there is shown a disposable open-topped container generally indicated at 10 (Figure 3). The open-topped container 10 includes a main container body 12 comprising an interior wall 14 and an exterior wall 16. When the open-topped container 10 is assembled (shown in Figure 3), parts of the interior wall 14 are spaced from parts of the exterior wall 16 so as to form an insulating void 18 between side portions 19 of the two walls. The insulating voids are between 0.1mm and 8mm thick.

The surface of the interior wall 14 is continuous; the arrangement being such that the wall 14 is seamless so as to inhibit leaking of liquid from inside the container 10 to the insulating void 18 or indeed through to the outside of the exterior wall.

The arrangement of the main container body 12 is such that there are two container bodies; an interior container body 20 and an exterior container body 22. To assemble the main container body 12, the interior container body 20, constructed from plastic 21 and being slightly smaller in diameter than the exterior container body 22, is inserted into the open top of the exterior container body 22 until base walls 25 and 26 abut one another. Upper rim of the interior container body 20 includes a flange 27, which when the main container is assembled extends up and over the upper edge of the exterior container body 22. The flange 27 includes a return 28 which extends until a base edge 29 is a small distance from the side wall 30 of the interior container body 20. This forms a recess 33 and a retaining device 31, the latter so as to retain an upper edge region 32 of the exterior container body 22 when assembled. The recess 33 is provided to receive the upper edge region 32 when assembled, to protect a user's lips from being caught between the two walls 14 and 16.

The upper rim assembly of the main container assembly 10 is continuous so that a user's lips are comfortable when drinking from the container, regardless of the position of the lips around the rim circumference. The portion of the upper rim assembly of the main

container assembly 10 which is in contact with the user's lips when drinking is the upper rim of the interior container body 20. As mentioned above, the interior container body 20 is constructed from plastic, and so is the rim, which facilitates the rim being continuous and comfortable.

The surface of exterior wall 14 may be corrugated and may touch exterior wall 16 to form more than one insulating void 18. The voids 18 may be any shape; vertical, circumferential, horizontal bands, diagonal, cross-hatched, or lumps.

The shape of the main container body 10 may be cup-shaped, bowl-shaped or other appropriate open-topped shapes.

Referring to Figures 4 - 7 there is shown a second embodiment of disposable cup generally indicated at 110. Numerals like to those used in Figs 1 - 3 denote like parts.

The second embodiment of disposable cup 110 includes an outer cup body 122 which has internal ribs 150 which are disposed in a diagonal or spiral shape around the internal wall of the cup body 122. The ribs 150 define voids 118 which facilitate insulation.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

Finally, it is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be incorporated into the various constructions and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention.