GB2146232A - A cup - Google Patents

Abstract

To minimize or neutralize the negative effects of electrostatic attraction of powder, e.g. powder which with liquid added will produce a cup-full of a beverage, to the underside of a cup 10 when it is stacked inside a lower cup holding a portion of powder, external protrusions 18 are provided on the base of said cup. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A cup This invention relates to a plastic cup, particularly of the type adapted for stacking, for example, in a beverage vending machine.

Plastic cups of this type are well known.

They are generally frusto-conical in shape with gently outwardly sloping side walling extending upwards from a circular base and having an outwardly turned over rim. They also have, internally, an annular ridge spaced a short distance, e.g. 1 cm, above the base, so that when a number of such cups is stacked, the edge of the base of the uppermost cup in each case rests on the annular ridge of the respective lower cup. A number of external ridges is also often provided between the internal ridge and the rim of each cup to assist in spacing and guiding the cups when stacked yet at the same time permitting easy removal of the uppermost or lowermost cup from a stack of such cups with minimal force.

Usually, the cups are produced in a blow moulding or deep drawing manufacturing process. Hereby, due to the thin base material used, outer ridges will, of course, appear as internal grooves and vice versa. Apart form the above-mentioned purposes, said ridges and grooves are provided as reinforcements.

When the aforesaid type of cups is used for dispensing beverages, it is common for a measured amount of dried powder to be provided in the base of each cup of a stack of cups, it being intended that one cup at a time should be removed from the stack and filled with hot or cold water so as to dissolve the powder and reconstitute the relevant beverage, e.g. coffee, hot chocolate or soft drinks.

However, it has been found that the external face of the base of each cup has a tendency to become electrostatically charged and attract particles of the powder from the cup below it in the stack. Accordingly, when the relevant beverage has been reconstituted and dispensed and the cups are placed on surfaces, such as table tops, shelves, floors etc., as so often occurs between times when the imbider is actually drinking, and also after he/she has finished the drink, powder adhering to the base of the cup comes into contact with the surface and leaves an undesirable and unsightly mark.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a cup particularly of a type suitable for stacking, in which the afore-mentioned negative effects of electrostatic attraction of powder to the external faces of the bases of stacked cups are minimized or neutralized.

With this object in view, the present invention provides a plastic cup which is generally frusto-conical in shape with gently outwardly sloping side walling extending upwardly from a base, which cup is characterized inthat a plurality of protrusions is arranged on the external face of the base of the cup.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a side of elevation of a practical embodiment of the cup of the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the same cup and Figure 3 is a view from beneath, revealing the underside of the same cup.

As illustrated, one particular practical embodiment of the cup 10 of the invention which is formed of plastics in a generally frusto-conical shape, comprises a circular base 11 and side walling 1 2 which slopes gently outwardly as it extends upwards from the base 11. At the top of the side walling 12, the plastics edge is turned outwardly to form a rim 1 3. An annular ridge, indicated by the arrow 14 is provided internally of the cup 10 about 1 cm above its base 11 by virtue of an inward indentation of the side walling 1 2. A corresponding downwardly facing external shoulder is also formed. A further similar ridge 1 5 and corresponding downwardly facing external shoulder is provided in the side walling 1 2 very close to the base 11.A pair of spaced apart outwardly projecting annular ridges 16, 1 7 is arranged between the ridge 14 and the rim 13 and corresponding annular grooves are formed on the inside of the side walling 1 2.

A plurality of part-spherical protrusions 1 8 is arranged on or in the external face of the base 11, with corresponding internal recesses.

There is preferably at least one centrally positioned protrusion 18 and there are e.g. eight protrusions 1 8 arranged equidistant around the periphery of the base 11. These protrusions 18 are between 1 and 10 mm in diameter and 1 to 10 mm high. In a preferred embodiment, said protrusions are between 2.5 and 4 mm in diameter and between 1 and 2 mm high. Furthermore, said base may be slightly vaulted in such a way, that the base center is somewhat more distant from a deposition surface than the base periphery. In such a latter case, the centrally located protrusion(s) is (are) preferably very slightly wider and higher than the other ones the increased height preferably corresponding to the vault height, so that the bottoms of all protrusions are all on the same level.This has proved to have a stabilizing effect on a cup according to the invention, even though very thin plastic material is used.

In use, a number of cups 10 will be stacked together with the external shoulder corresponding to the ridge 1 5 adjacent the base 11 of each cup (except the lowest) resting on the internal ridge 1 4 of the cup 10 beneath the external ridges 1 6, 1 7 of each cup 10 (except the lowest) contract the internal walling surface of the cup beneath and thereby assist in guiding and spacing the cups 10, of which e.g. the lower most may easily be separated by minimal force. A portion of powder, e.g. instant coffee powder, (which with liquid added will produce a cup-full of the relevant beverage) is placed in the base of each cup 10. Under normal circumstances, as explained above, the external face of each base 11 tends to electrostatically attract this powder.However, with the proposed cup design, the protrusions 1 8 and in some cases even their immediate vicinity do not tend to accumulate or hold electric charge, at least not of the same poiarity, and thereby counteract the aforesaid tendency such that powder does not adhere to the protrusions of cups 10 in accordance with the invention.

When in use, after a beverage has been dispensed, a cup 10 is set down on a surface, the base 11 thereof is, of course, supported above said surface by the protrusions 18.

Moreover, as no powder had adhered to the protrusions, the cup 10 will not leave a powder mark on the surface. The cup 10 is, of course, ultimately disposable.

It should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing embodiment and variations are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, the number, shape and disposition of protrusions and of annular ridges may vary from those in the described embodiment. Thus it will be appreciated, that the protrusions may be of any other shape, e.g. conical, frusto-conical etc. Furthermore, the provision of protrusions is not limited to the base. There may also be protrusions on the walling around cup portions next to the base or on or above ridge 1 5 with a pattern being analogous to the peripheral protrusions as shown though, of course, pointing radially outwards and not downwards. Such protrusions will serve to space and guide stacked cups and will create adequate friction forces, i.e. which are easily controllable in connection with both stacking together and separation of cups. Such protrusions protect to some extent the peripheral part of the base, to which part a marginal amount of powder may adhere. For the best possible guiding, these protrusions may be arranged considerably more numerous, e.g.

four times as much, and much wider, e.g.

appr. 5 mm, though not deeper than the downwardly facing base protrusions.

Claims (8)

1. A plastic cup which is generally frustoconical in shape with gently outwardly sloping side walling extending upwardly from a base, characterized in, that a plurality of protrusions is arranged on the external face of the base of the cup.

2. A plastic cup according to claim 1, wherein an internal annular ridge being provided on the walling a short spacing from the base to facilitate stacking of a number of similar cups by the uppermost cup in each case abutting the ridge of the lower cup.

3. A plastic cup according to claim 1.

wherein said protrusions are generally partspherical.

4. A plastic cup according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said protrusions is centrally located and the others are arranged equidistant around the periphery of the base.

5. A plastic cup according to claim 1, wherein said protrusions are between 1 and 10 mm in diameter and 1 to 10 mm high, preferably between 2.5 and 4 mm wide and between 1 and 2 mm high.

6. A plastic cup according to claim 4, wherein said base is slightly vaulted in such a way, that the base center is somewhat more distant from a deposition surface than the base periphery, and wherein the centrally located protrusions(s) is(are) slightly wider and higher than the other ones the increased height approximately corresponding to the vault height.

7. A plastic cup according to claim 1, wherein protrusions also are provided on the walling around cup portions in the lower cup area.

8. A plastic cup substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing.