Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Paperboard box – Elevated bottom wall included in a one-piece box construction
Patent
1996-11-29
1998-09-01
Elkins, Gary E.
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Paperboard box
Elevated bottom wall included in a one-piece box construction
229110, 229193, 229405, B65D 308, B65D 536
Patent
active
057998639
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to the manufacture of foldable cups of the type described in the Patents FR-A-2707467, FR-A-2710005, FR-A-2712788, envisaging unfolding cups having a prefolded concave bottom allowing good locking.
The cups described in these patents have the main advantages of being able to be manufactured continuously from a reel of cardboard plastic-coated on one face, of having high-quality impermeability, of having a bottom which is very easy to unfold and perfectly locked, in the natural gripping direction, when drinking from this cup and of having a double wall in the gripping regions allowing good insulation of the user's fingers when the liquid is hot. The first problem with these cups is that they use a concave bottom and that, when the cup is used for consuming a drink which has to have sugar added, it is difficult to dissolve the sugar since the liquid has to be stirred in each of the two hollows formed by the concave bottom of the cup. The second problem is that stabilizing these cups is achieved by virtue of the addition of stabilizers which generally use a not inconsiderable additional quantity of cardboard; it is possible, however, in certain cases, to make savings in cardboard, which is to the detriment of the aesthetic appearance or of the simplicity of manufacture.
There are many patents which seek to resolve the problem of the concave bottom; they all work by reversing the concavity of the bottom so that the interior of the cup has a convex bottom including only one hollow at the centre; taking the patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,469 as an example, the bottom is obtained from a sheet folded into a "W" so that the central part serves to form the convex bottom, while the fold line separating the central part of the cup from the lateral parts serves as a polygon for resting the cup on a flat surface. Such a cup therefore has the advantage, in addition to the convex bottom, of having good stability which is obtained automatically by unfolding the assembly; a drawback is that unfolding it is done by pressing on the cup parallel to the line of folding of the bottom which has to buckle under the force at appropriate points in order to achieve correct shaping of the bottom; even with correct grooving the result is not certain if the folding has not already been made to operate at least once; even with it having been folded previously, and even if the cardboard is wet, it remains very difficult to open. When the bottom is deployed the line of folding of the bottom is parallel to the lateral sides on which the fingers naturally rest when the cup is grasped in order to drink; this line constitutes a region of weakness possibly leading to the inadvertent closing of the cup with a reduction in volume possibly causing the liquid to overflow.
The patent FR-A-2707467 proposes a solution for dispensing with this line of weakness and for making the unfolding of the bottom more reliable in the case of a concave bottom.
The object of the present invention is to propose a foldable cup, having a convex bottom which is prefolded in such a way that deployment is completely reliable, in particular not comprising a line of folding weakening its locking in open position.
FIG. 1 presents a cutout and grooved blank, seen from above, one of the ends of which has been deleted, with the grooves, in dots and dashes, which allow the cup according to the invention to be shaped.
FIG. 2 represents a view in perspective of the cup corresponding to the blank of FIG. 1, shaped into unfolded position which has been cut away to show the inside thereof.
FIG. 3 represents the cup of FIG. 2 folded according to the invention.
FIG. 4 represents a cut-out and grooved blank, seen from above, according to one variant of the invention.
FIG. 5 represents a cutout and grooved blank, seen from above, according to another variant of the invention.
FIG. 6 shows a cutout and grooved blank seen from above, of another variant of the invention.
FIG. 7 represents a view in perspective of the cup corresponding to the blanks of FIGS. 5 and
REFERENCES:
patent: 1690586 (1928-11-01), Main
patent: 1985111 (1934-12-01), Shofer et al.
patent: 2232088 (1941-02-01), Waters
patent: 2323287 (1943-07-01), Amberg
patent: 2385898 (1945-10-01), Waters
patent: 3726469 (1973-04-01), Koehler
patent: 4981257 (1991-01-01), Radbruch
patent: 5312035 (1994-05-01), Nold et al.
patent: 5356069 (1994-10-01), Bochet et al.
Buchberg Akiva
Capy Gilbert
LandOfFree
Unfolding cup with prefolded convex bottom does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Unfolding cup with prefolded convex bottom, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Unfolding cup with prefolded convex bottom will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-260964