U.S. patent application number 12/063022 was filed with the patent office on 2008-09-11 for cream cup.
This patent application is currently assigned to Seidel GmbH & Co.. Invention is credited to Manfred Bodenbender.
Application Number | 20080217344 12/063022 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37137389 |
Filed Date | 2008-09-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080217344 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bodenbender; Manfred |
September 11, 2008 |
Cream Cup
Abstract
A cream cup (10) comprises an internal cream-containing cup
(11), and external cup lining (12) for receiving said internal cup
and a spacer (21) which is placed between said internal cup and
external cup lining and which, after being inserted into the cup
lining (12), can be transferred from a radial retracted
configuration for the insertion thereof into the cup lining (12) to
a radial extension configuration for receiving said cup lining (12)
in such a way that the internal cup (11) is fixed therein.
Inventors: |
Bodenbender; Manfred;
(Marburg, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BLAKELY SOKOLOFF TAYLOR & ZAFMAN LLP
1279 OAKMEAD PARKWAY
SUNNYVALE
CA
94085-4040
US
|
Assignee: |
Seidel GmbH & Co.
Marburg
DE
|
Family ID: |
37137389 |
Appl. No.: |
12/063022 |
Filed: |
August 4, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
August 4, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2006/007760 |
371 Date: |
February 5, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/694 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45D 40/0068
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/694 |
International
Class: |
B65D 25/00 20060101
B65D025/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 5, 2005 |
DE |
10 2005 037 625.5 |
Claims
1. A cream cup with an internal cup for accommodating a cream and
an external cup lining for receiving the internal cup, wherein a
spacer is arranged between the internal cup and the cup lining,
characterized in that the spacer (21, 41) can be transferred from a
radially retracted configuration for being inserted into the cup
lining into a radially expanded configuration for receiving the
internal cup (11, 42) after its insertion to the cup lining such
that the internal cup is fixed in the cup lining (12).
2. The cream cup according to claim 1, characterized in that the
spacer (21) features at least two spacer segments (25) that are
connected to one another by means of connecting devices of variable
length.
3. The cream cup according to claim 2, characterized in that the
spacer segments (25) are realized in the form of ring segments that
are connected to one another by means of circumferential webs (27)
on their longitudinal ends.
4. The cream cup according to claim 3, characterized in that the
ring segments (25) are connected to one another by means of the
circumferential webs (27) on their upper axial ends and by means of
radial spokes (29) on their lower radial ends.
5. The cream cup according to claim 1, characterized in that the
spacer (41) features at least two spacer segments (44) that have an
axial dimension corresponding to the inner height of the cup lining
(12) and are respectively connected to a circumferential edge (47)
of a cup bottom (46) of the internal cup (42) on their upper axial
ends by means of a connecting device (49) with a predetermined
breaking point.
6. The cream cup according to claim 5, characterized in that the
connecting device (49) is made of a film material.
7. The cream cup according to Claim 5, characterized in that the
internal cup (42) and the spacer (41) are realized in one piece
with the aid of the connecting device (49).
8. The cream cup according to Claim 5, characterized in that the
circumferential edge (47) and the cup bottom (46) define a
receptacle space (48) for accommodating a weight (23).
9. The cream cup according to claim 2, characterized in that the
spacer segments are realized elastically.
10. The cream cup according to claim 3, characterized in that a
radially outer and a radially inner surface of the ring segments
respectively have a surface contour that corresponds to the surface
contour of an inner surface of the cup lining (12) and an outer
surface of the internal cup (11, 42), respectively.
11. The cream cup according to claim 10, characterized in that the
internal cup (11) and the cup lining (12) are realized in the form
of cylindrical cups and the ring segments (25) are realized in the
form of hollow cylindrical segments.
Description
[0001] The present invention pertains to a cream cup with an
internal cup for accommodating a cream and an external cup lining
for receiving the internal cup, wherein a spacer is arranged
between the internal cup and the cup lining.
[0002] Cream cups of the initially described type serve for
accommodating creams, particularly skin creams, and should not only
make it possible to safely store the cream, but also to realize an
aesthetically appealing presentation of the cream contained
therein. This is the reason why such cream cups typically comprise
several parts and feature an internal cup that is inserted into an
external lining. Since the volume of the internal cup usually
amounts to only a fraction of the volume of the external lining, a
spacer normally needs to be provided between the internal cup and
the external lining in order to securely hold the internal cup in
the external lining.
[0003] The present invention is based on the objective of proposing
a cream cup, the components of which can be easily assembled and
make it possible to achieve an aesthetically appealing design of
the cream cup.
[0004] This objective is attained in that the inventive cream cup
is realized in accordance with the characteristics of Claim 1.
[0005] According to the invention, a spacer is arranged between the
internal cup and the external lining and, after its insertion into
the cup lining, can be transferred from a radially retracted
configuration for being inserted into the cup lining into a
radially expanded configuration for receiving the internal cup such
that the internal cup is fixed in the cup lining.
[0006] During the assembly of the cream cup, the inventive design
of the spacer makes it possible to initially insert the spacer into
the external lining and then radially widen the spacer in order to
subsequently insert the internal cup into the radially widened
spacer and safely store the internal cup in the external
lining.
[0007] According to one advantageous embodiment, the spacer
features at least two spacer segments that are connected to one
another by means of connecting devices of variable length. The
inventive widening of an initially retracted spacer can already be
achieved with this very simple design.
[0008] If the spacer segments are furthermore realized in the form
of ring segments that are connected to one another by means of
circumferential webs on their longitudinal ends, the inserted
internal cup is radially supported relative to the cup lining over
longer circumferential distances such that the insertion of the
internal cup into the spacer is simplified and promoted by the
adequate radial guiding properties of the ring segments.
[0009] A design of the spacer that allows an exactly defined
relative arrangement between the ring segments in the retracted as
well as the widened configuration is achieved if the ring segments
are connected to one another by means of circumferential webs on
their upper axial ends and by means of radial spokes on their lower
axial ends.
[0010] In another advantageous embodiment, the spacer features at
least two spacer segments that have an axial dimension
corresponding to the inner height of the external lining and are
respectively connected to a circumferential edge of a cup bottom of
the internal cup on their upper axial ends by means of a connecting
device with a predetermined breaking point.
[0011] This embodiment makes it possible to simplify the assembly
because the spacer and the internal cup can be handled as a unit
rather than independently of one another.
[0012] In order to eliminate the need for a discreet predetermined
breaking point on the connecting device, it is particularly
advantageous if the connecting device consists of a film material
because the connection is simply torn or separated due to the film
or foil character of the connecting device after the spacer is
inserted into the cup lining and the internal cup is additionally
displaced into the external lining.
[0013] A particularly simple manufacture of an assembly unit
consisting of the internal cup and the spacer can be achieved if
the internal cup and the spacer are realized in one piece with the
aid of the connecting device. For example, an assembly unit of this
type can be manufactured in one piece by means of an injection
moulding process.
[0014] It is also particularly advantageous if the circumferential
edge and the cup bottom define a receptacle space for accommodating
a weight because this makes it possible to insert the weight and
the spacer into the cup lining in an interconnected state.
[0015] Regardless of the particular design of the spacer, it is
advantageous if the spacer segments are realized elastically such
that the internal cup can be accommodated in the cup lining under
elastic prestress. This makes it possible to preclude relative
movements that could lead to annoying noises during the handling of
the cream cup.
[0016] If the ring segments are realized such that a radially outer
and a radially inner surface of the ring segments respectively have
a surface contour that corresponds to the surface contour of an
inner surface of the cup lining and an outer surface of the
internal cup, respectively, the spacer makes it possible to achieve
a particularly accurate guidance that prevents possible tilting
during the insertion, namely not only in the instant of the
insertion, but rather during the entire insertion process until the
internal cup is completely accommodated in the cup lining.
[0017] According to one preferred embodiment, the internal cup and
the cup lining are realized in the form of cylindrical cups and the
ring segments are realized in the form of hollow cylindrical
segments.
[0018] If so required, the hollow cylindrical segments may also be
realized in a curved fashion in accordance with the adjacent
surface of the cup lining and the internal cup, respectively. If
the respective adjacent surfaces of the internal cup and the cup
lining are realized accordingly, it is also possible to design the
radially outer surface and the radially inner surface of the spacer
with different curvature radii.
[0019] Advantageous embodiments of the cream cup are described
below with reference to the figures. The figures show:
[0020] FIG. 1, a perspective representation of a first embodiment
of a cream cup;
[0021] FIG. 2, a sectional representation of the cream cup
according to FIG. 1;
[0022] FIG. 3, a top view of the cream cup according to FIG. 1;
[0023] FIG. 4, an exploded view of the cream cup according to FIG.
1 that serves for elucidating the assembly process;
[0024] FIG. 5, a spacer in its radially retracted
configuration;
[0025] FIG. 6, another embodiment of a cream cup;
[0026] FIG. 7, a sectional representation of the cream cup
according to FIG. 6;
[0027] FIG. 8, a top view of the cream cup according to FIG. 6,
and
[0028] FIG. 9, an exploded view of the cream cup according to FIG.
6 that serves for elucidating the assembly process.
[0029] FIG. 1 shows a perspective representation of a cream cup 10
with an internal cup 11 that serves for directly accommodating a
not-shown cream and a cup lining 12 that receives the internal cup
11.
[0030] The illustration according to FIG. 2, in particular, shows
that the internal cup 11 and the cup lining 12 are both realized in
the form of a cup. In this case, the internal cup 11 essentially
consists of a cup wall 13 that has the shape of a hollow cylinder
and is realized in one piece with an outwardly convex cup bottom
14. In its upper edge region, the cup wall 13 is provided with an
external thread 15 that serves for producing a connection with a
not-shown screw cap. The internal cup 11 is preferably made of
plastic.
[0031] The cup lining 12 features a wall 16 in the shape of a
hollow cylinder that is provided with an inwardly protruding inward
flange 17 on its upper edge, wherein this inward flange forms an
opening edge 30 of a receptacle opening 18 for receiving the
internal cup 11. The lining 12 furthermore features a lining bottom
19 that is integrally connected to the wall 16 and essentially
extends parallel to the plane of the receptacle opening 18. The
lining 12 is preferably realized in the form of a deep-drawn part
of metal, particularly of aluminum.
[0032] FIG. 2 also shows that the arrangement of the inward flange
17 on the wall 16 creates an annular undercut space 20 in the
interior of the cup lining 12, wherein this undercut space is
occupied by a spacer 21 of corresponding annular design. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a disk-shaped weight 23 is arranged in
the receptacle space 22 bordered by the spacer 21 in addition to
the internal cup 11 in the assembled state of the cream cup 10,
wherein said weight is situated between the cup bottom 14 and the
lining bottom 19 referred to a vertical axis 24 of the cream cup
10.
[0033] The assembly process for manufacturing the cream cup 10 is
described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, wherein the spacer
21 is illustrated in its radially retracted installation
configuration I (FIG. 5) as well as in its radially widened
receptacle configuration II (FIG. 4). The spacer 21 features a
multitude of spacer segments 25 that are arranged annularly. In the
present embodiment, the spacer 21 features six spacer segments 25
that are connected to one another by means of a radial connecting
device 27 of star-shaped design on their lower axial end 26. On
their opposite axial end 28, the spacer segments 25 arranged on
their circle 31 are connected to one another by means of web-shaped
connecting devices 29. In the installation configuration I, the
radial spacing between the spacer segments 25 is reduced such that
an installation circumference d is realized which is smaller than
the clear diameter D of the receptacle opening 22 of the lining 12.
In this installation configuration I, the connecting webs 29 as
well as the connecting device 27 are positioned in their shortened
installation configuration.
[0034] After the spacer 21 is inserted into the cup lining 12, a
radial widening of spacer 21 takes place such that the spacer 21 or
the spaces segments 25, respectively, are moved radially outward
into their receptacle configuration II. Consequently, the inside
diameter D of the spacer has such a dimension in the receptacle
configuration II that the weight and subsequently the internal cup
11 can be inserted into the cup lining 12 or the receptacle space
22 defined by the spacer 21 arranged in the lining 12,
respectively. The outside diameters of the weight d.sub.G and of
the internal cup d.sub.I are slightly oversized referred to the
inside diameter D of the widened spacer 21 such that a slight press
fit is adjusted between the weight 23 and the internal cup 11 on
one hand and the spacer 21 on the other hand.
[0035] The widening or transferring of the spacer 21 from the
installation configuration I into the receptacle configuration II
can be realized with the insertion of the weight 23 and the
internal cup 11 into the spacer 21.
[0036] Due to the above-described assembly process made possible by
the ability to radially widen the spacer in accordance with the
invention, the cup lining 12 can also be realized integrally, i.e.,
with a lining bottom that is realized in one piece with the wall 16
of the lining 12, namely despite the undercut realized on the
lining 12.
[0037] A comparison of FIGS. 2 and 4 clearly shows that a snap-in
web 32 provided on the outside of the cup wall 13 engages with the
opening edge 30 of the receptacle opening 18 formed by the inward
flange 17 when the internal cup 11 is completely inserted into the
receptacle space formed by the spacer 21.
[0038] In the following explanation of another embodiment of a
cream cup 40 that is illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 9, components that
are designed or function analogous to the components described in
connection with the preceding figures are identified by the same
reference symbols such that only the differences in comparison with
the above-described embodiment of the cream cup 10 are discussed
below.
[0039] A comparison of FIGS. 7 and 9 clearly shows that the cream
cup 40 is provided with a spacer 41 that is connected to the
internal cup 42 or its cup bottom 46, respectively, or to a region
of the cup wall 45 situated adjacent to the cup bottom 46. In the
embodiment shown, the spacer 41 is connected to the internal cup 42
by means of a film web 49 provided on the upper axial end 43 of the
spacer 41. Analogous to the spacer 21, the spacer 41 features a
multitude of spacer segments 44 that, however, do not have to be
directly connected to one another due to the respective connection
with the cup bottom 46 or the cup wall 45, respectively.
[0040] A comparison of FIGS. 2 and 9 also clearly shows that, after
inserting the spacer 41 in the installation configuration I shown
in FIG. 9 and continuing the axial insertion movement, the film web
49 tears such that the internal cup 42 or the cup wall 45
subsequently penetrates into the receptacle space 22 of the spacer
41, wherein the penetration of the internal cup 42 into the spacer
41 results in a radial widening of the spacer 41 such that it is
transferred into the receptacle configuration II shown in FIG.
2.
[0041] In order to also ensure that the weight 23 is securely
accommodated in the cup lining 12, a receptacle space 48 for the
weight 23 is formed on the cup bottom 46 of the internal cup 42
with the aid of a bottom web 47 such that the weight 23 can already
be arranged on the cup bottom 46 before the internal cup 42 is
inserted into the interior of the spacer 41.
[0042] Once the internal cup 42 is completely inserted into the
receptacle space 22, a radial snap-in ring 50 of the internal cup
42 engages with the opening edge 30 of the receptacle opening 18
defined by the inward flange 17 in the lining.
* * * * *