U.S. patent application number 12/174833 was filed with the patent office on 2009-02-26 for cup holder sleeve.
Invention is credited to Richard Robert Coulson, Barry Joseph Stone.
Application Number | 20090050767 12/174833 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40381272 |
Filed Date | 2009-02-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090050767 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stone; Barry Joseph ; et
al. |
February 26, 2009 |
CUP HOLDER SLEEVE
Abstract
A cup holder sleeve is provided with a hanger for suspending a
sleeve and cup combination from objects (e.g. shopping carts). The
sleeve includes a body and a hanger connected to the body. The
hanger is deformable to define a hook. The sleeve is expandable to
receive the cup and collapsible to a substantially flat
configuration for storage. When the body is flat, the sleeve is
substantially co-planer. The hanger may be made using an elongate
hanger element, such as a deformable strip of aluminium, extending
from an upper edge of the body. Preferably, the elongate hanger
element is covered in a same material (e.g. paper, foam) used for
the body. The body is composed of a material strip material
fastened at overlapping ends to define an annular shape.
Preferably, the hanger extends from the body at the overlapping
ends and may be fastened to the body between the overlapping
ends.
Inventors: |
Stone; Barry Joseph;
(Georgetown, CA) ; Coulson; Richard Robert;
(Markham, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GOWLING LAFLEUR HENDERSON LLP
SUITE 1600, 1 FIRST CANADIAN PLACE, 100 KING STREET WEST
TORONTO
ON
M5X 1G5
CA
|
Family ID: |
40381272 |
Appl. No.: |
12/174833 |
Filed: |
July 17, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60950212 |
Jul 17, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/311.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 23/0216 20130101;
B65D 81/3876 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/311.2 |
International
Class: |
B65D 81/00 20060101
B65D081/00 |
Claims
1. A cup holder sleeve comprising: a body defining a sleeve for
receiving a cup; and a hanger connected to the body for hanging the
sleeve and cup combination.
2. The cup holder sleeve of claim 1 wherein the hanger is
deformable to define a hook for hanging the sleeve and cup
combination.
3. The cup holder sleeve of claim 1 wherein the body is expandable
to receive the cup and collapsible to a substantially flat
configuration for storage.
4. The cup holder sleeve of claim 3, wherein, when the body is
flat, the hanger and body are substantially co-planer.
5. The cup holder sleeve of any one of the preceding claims wherein
the hanger comprises an elongate hanger element extending from an
upper edge of the body.
6. The cup holder sleeve of claim 5 wherein the elongate hanger
element comprises a deformable strip of aluminium.
7. The cup holder sleeve of claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the elongate
element is covered in a material of the body.
8. The cup holder sleeve of any one of claims 5 to 7 wherein the
body comprises a strip of material fastened at overlapping ends to
define an annular shape for receiving the cup.
9. The cup holder sleeve of claim 8 wherein the hanger extends from
the body at the overlapping ends.
10. The cup holder sleeve of claim 8 wherein the elongate element
is fastened to the body between the overlapping ends.
11. A method of making a cup holder sleeve comprising: (a)
receiving a strip of material having opposing ends for overlapping
to define a body of the sleeve; (b) receiving an elongate hanger
element for defining a hanger, the hanger element having a first
end for connecting to the body; and (c) fastening the overlapping
opposing ends of the strip with the end of the elongate element
therebetween.
12. The method of claim 11 comprising covering a second end of the
hanger element opposing the first end with a material used to
define the strip.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein said step of covering is
performed before said step of fastening.
14. A method of using a cup holder sleeve comprising: (a) receiving
a recyclable/disposable cup holder sleeve having a deformable
hanger; (b) deforming the hanger to hang on an object; and (c)
hanging the cup holder sleeve and a cup received within the sleeve
on the object.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE
[0001] This application claims the benefit of the prior filing of
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/950,212 filed Jul. 17,
2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
FIELD
[0002] This application relates generally to the field of cup
holders and more particularly to recyclable/disposable cup holder
sleeves that may be stored flat and expanded to fit around a cup.
An integral cup hanger is provided for suspending the sleeve and
cup combination.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Cup holders and chiefly cup holder sleeves are commonly used
to provide assistance to persons carrying cups for beverages and
the like. A cup is placed in the sleeve so that the sleeve tightly
surrounds a substantial portion of the cup. The sleeve provides
assistance with gripping the cup and/or with insulating the cup,
especially when the cup contains a hot beverage like coffee, tea or
hot chocolate. Cup holder sleeves are typically made from paper or
other insulating materials (foam), are disposable and, preferably,
recyclable. Some sleeves are embossed or otherwise worked to
provide a non-flat surface. The sleeves also provide a surface for
printing material such as advertisements and other information
including warnings or instructions for food service workers to
prepare the intended contents and/or to identify the contents of
the cup once prepared.
[0004] Cup holders sleeves are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,986,438
of Leung, U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,497 of Sorensen and U.S. Pat. No.
5,205,473 of Coffin, Sr.
[0005] Though different constructions and materials are known,
commonly, a user holds the cup and sleeve combination by holding
the sleeve between a thumb and one or more fingers of the user's
hand. The cup and sleeve may be gripped with two hands, as well,
though two-handed carrying may be awkward.
[0006] There are times when a user wishes not to use a hand to
carry a cup and sleeve and yet may also not have a suitable surface
upon which to rest the cup in an upright position. For example, a
user may wish to push a shopping cart or stroller while enjoying a
beverage in a cup. Cup holders integrated in handles of shopping
carts often get dirty and require routine cleaning. Their position
is fixed on the cart. It may also be desired to have a child ride
along in the shopping cart and it is preferred to keep the child
away from the beverage in the cup.
[0007] A solution to one or more of these issues is therefore
desirable.
SUMMARY
[0008] A cup holder sleeve is provided with a hanger for suspending
a sleeve and cup combination from objects (e.g. shopping carts).
The sleeve includes a body and a hanger connected to the body. The
hanger is deformable to define a hook. The sleeve is expandable to
receive the cup and collapsible to a substantially flat
configuration for storage. When the body is flat, the sleeve is
substantially co-planer. The hanger may be made using an elongate
hanger element, such as a deformable strip of aluminium, extending
from an upper edge of the body. Preferably, the elongate hanger
element is covered in a same material (e.g. paper, foam) used for
the body. The body is composed of a material strip material
fastened at overlapping ends to define an annular shape.
Preferably, the hanger extends from the body at the overlapping
ends and may be fastened to the body between the overlapping
ends.
[0009] These and other aspects will be apparent to those of skill
in the art.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] Further features and advantages of the embodiments will
become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in
combination with the appended drawings, in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a front view of a cup holder sleeve, folded flat,
in accordance with an embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a back view of the cup holder sleeve of FIG.
1;
[0013] FIGS. 3A and 3B are views showing the expansion of the cup
holder sleeve;
[0014] FIG. 4 is back view of the cup holder sleeve showing an
element of the hanger;
[0015] FIGS. 5A and 5B are alternative cross-sectional views along
lines A-A of FIG. 4 showing the connection of the hanger to the
body of the cup holder sleeve;
[0016] FIG. 6 is view of the cup holder sleeve showing the hanger
in a bent position for suspending the cup holder sleeve; and
[0017] FIG. 7 is view of the cup holder sleeve of FIG. 6 in
combination with a cup.
[0018] It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like
features are identified by like reference numerals.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a front view of a cup holder sleeve 100 in
accordance with an embodiment and in which sleeve 100 is folded
flat. Sleeve 100 comprises an expandable/collapsible body 102 and a
deformable hanger 104. When flat, hanger and body are substantially
co-planer for storage. Body 102 includes an upper edge 106 into
which a cup is insertable and opposing tapered side edges 108 and
110.
[0020] Body 102 is preferable constructed from a multi-ply material
such as cellulosic material including Kraft paper, post-consumer
recycled paper, etc. the layers of which are glued using an
adhesive. FIG. 2 is a back view of the cup holder sleeve of FIG. 1.
Body 102 is typically formed from a die cut strip of multiply
material that is fastened at it's overlapping ends (e.g. 120,122
(See FIG. 5A)) such as by gluing together with a suitable adhesive
material.
[0021] Body 102 is expandable to form an annular body and is
typically tapered from top to bottom and is sized to fit a
correspondingly shaped (e.g. frusto-conical) cup. As is known to
persons of ordinary skill in the art, side edges 108 and 110 may be
adapted to assist with the folding of body 102 such as with slits
(not shown) through at least a portion of the material on the
exterior surface 112 of the body 102. The slits typically extend
longitudinally along the edges and may comprise one or more slits
on each side.
[0022] FIGS. 3A and 3B show the expansion of the cup holder sleeve
(along a direction indicated by the arrow in dotted outline),
revealing inner surface 140 that sits adjacent a cup when in use
(See too, FIG. 7).
[0023] Hanger 104 extends from upper edge 106 and is preferably
positioned at a midpoint between edges 108 and 110 to accommodate
the generally annular shape of the body when it is expanded. Before
deformation, hanger 104 is substantially flat for storage. Hanger
104 is relatively narrow between its edges 114 and 116 in
comparison to body 102 to assist hooking on objects such as
shopping carts that may be mesh-like in construction. FIG. 4 is
back view of the cup holder sleeve showing further details of an
element 130 of the hanger 104. In FIG. 4, element 130 is an
additional representative element shown for illustration purposes
only. A similar element 130 is carried within sleeve 100.
[0024] Hanger element 130 comprises a free end 132 and a fixed end
134 that is connected to body 102. Element 130 provides a
deformable substrate for shaping by the user to define a hook-like
hanger near free end 132 as described further with reference to
FIGS. 6 and 7. Elongate element 130 may be formed of a relatively
pliable metal such as aluminium or other deformable material that
is sufficiently stiff to hold its shape under anticipated loading,
that is, when supporting a cup and its contents. It is further
preferred that the material is recyclable and easily separable from
the multi-ply material, such as at a recycling facility, after
use.
[0025] Element 130 is sized to extend within body portion 102 to
provide sufficient connection thereto when supporting the weight of
a cup and its contents. Preferably, near end 134 that connects to
body 102, there are formed a plurality of teeth 136 and/or holes
138 in the element 130. These structures aid in the retention of
element 130 during use so that element 130 does not slide out of
connection to body 102. The teeth and holes assist with the
distribution of adhesive around the end 134 of element 130 for
gluing the hanger to the body as described below. Elements 130 may
be die cut using 020'' aluminum, for example.
[0026] Free end 132, extending above edge 106, is preferably
disposed within layers of multi-ply material, for example, so as to
cover any sharp edges of element 130 that otherwise may be in
contact with a user. The material may be glued over the end 132 and
provided for connecting with body 102.
[0027] Fixed end 134 may be connected to body 102 in alternative
embodiments. FIG. 5A is a cross-section of body 102 and hanger 104
about line A-A of FIG. 4 showing a first embodiment. When ends 120
and 122 of a die cut exemplary two ply strip defining body 102 are
fastened, there is formed an exterior surface 112 of body 102 and
an interior surface 140. End 134 of hanger 104 may be fastened in
the adhesive 142 between the two ends 120, 122 of the die cut body
strip when they are laminated. In this way, fewer assembly steps
may be required.
[0028] FIG. 5B is a cross-section of body 102 and hanger 104 about
line A-A of FIG. 4 showing a second embodiment. Alternatively,
though not preferred, FIG. 5B shows end 134 between respective
layers of the two-ply material at an end (e.g. 120) of body strip
102. In this embodiment, steps are thus required to connect end 134
to the body strip and to close the body strip. Advantageously, the
construction shown in FIG. 5A permits fewer modifications to
current practices for forming sleeves.
[0029] Though simple two-ply material is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B,
persons of ordinary skill in the art will understand that other
constructions may be used including corrugated papers and
foams.
[0030] FIGS. 6 are 7 are views of the cup holder sleeve showing the
hanger 104 in a bent position for hanging the cup holder sleeve and
a cup (FIG. 7) it is carrying. Hanger 104 may be deformed by
bending about a user's finger or another object. An elongate hanger
104 assists with bending though shorter embodiments may be
useful.
[0031] In use, hanger 104 may be deformed to suspend a cup and
sleeve combination from a shopping cart for example.
Advantageously, the combination may be suspended from various parts
and about various desired locations of the cart including the
basket that are remote from a child riding in the cart. The
location of the hanger assists with keeping the cup upright while
hung. As well, the stiffness of element 130 is useful to retain the
sleeve in place especially while moving the cart. The hanger may be
bent to grip a part of the cart such a lip of the basket and
squeeze to conform to the size and shape of the cart part. Yet, the
sleeve and hanger may be provided in a flat configuration for
storage and display for users or food service works to pick up and
apply to a cup.
[0032] In addition to hanging from a cart or the like, the hanger
may also be bent to hand the cup and sleeve from other objects. For
example, it may be back over a user's fingers (away from the sleeve
as is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7) to assist with gripping the cup when
holding with one hand.
* * * * *