Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Hollow or container type article – Paper containing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-24
2001-08-21
Dye, Rena L. (Department: 1772)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Hollow or container type article
Paper containing
C428S036500, C428S192000, C428S195100, C428S206000, C428S313500, C428S339000, C428S349000, C428S542800, C229S403000, C220S062120, C220S592220, C220S592250, C220S903000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06277454
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to any insulated container, and more particularly to one which is made from paper or paper board upon which a syntactic foam is deposited for insulation.
2. Description of Related Art
The production and use of disposable containers, such as cups, is well known with production measured in the billions of units annually. Because of this volume, the business is fiercely competitive and cost is measured in units of one thousand. A change of a few percent in cost can make a container unsaleable, particularly to large fast food chains.
Paper and paperboard are widely used as materials in the production of disposable containers because they are inexpensive and amenable to very high volume production. They have limitations, however, particularly in containing hot liquids which are dispensed from coffee machines or supplied in fast food restaurants. The initial temperature of coffee poured into a disposable cup can exceed 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature achieved on the outside of the cup can make it painful to hold. A person's reaction to this pain can cause spillage, severe damage to the skin, and inevitable product liability litigation.
Consequently there have been many attempts to provide improved insulation to paper containers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,982 to Sadlier shows a cup formed from one continuous sheet where the outer and inner shells are spaced apart by a corrugated layer which forms many air pockets between the shells to insulate the cup and-provide greater strength. The blank from which the cup is formed is at least three times as long as that for a conventional cup, thereby adding to the cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,585 to Varano discloses a double wall structure in which inwardly directed ribs from the outer surface maintain a gap between the walls to provide insulation. Again added material means added cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,107 to Silver et al. teaches a double wall structure wherein the inner wall is connected to the outer one only at the lip and at the base of the cup. The walls have different tapers thereby defining a dead air space between them which provides insulation.
Accordingly, there still exists a need for an inexpensive container which provides a controlled amount of heat transfer to warn the user that a hot liquid is contained therein, which insulates sufficiently to protect against pain or burn, which is stackable for shipping and mass sales, and which is microwave compatible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to any insulated container for hot or cold products and liquids. To be responsive to the needs referenced above, the container needs to be inexpensive, so a layer of insulation is applied to one side of a blank used to make it. The blank is typically paper or paperboard to control cost, but the insulation could be applied to a single-walled plastic cup as well. The insulation is a syntactic foam, that is, a foam which incorporates insulating particles which are held in place by a binder. Greater insulation is obtained where the insulating particles are void containing particles which can be made from thermoplastic, thermoset, or inorganic materials which enclose an air space. The void containing particles may be of arbitrary shape and they may be applied to the blank in expanded or unexpanded form. A subsequent heating operation may be used to expand previously unexpanded particles so that they contain voids. There are many different types of void containing particles and they may be used alone or in combination with each other to achieve a particular degree of insulation or other mechanical properties. These void containing particles are held in place by a binder, into which other ingredients may also be added to produce a color (pigment), to control viscosity (thickeners and solvents), and to control density (fillers and foaming agents).
The syntactic foam avoids the need for double-walled construction with spacers, which construction uses as much as three times the paper stock. The foam also provides a controlled degree of insulation by adjusting its thickness, particle type, and composition, so that a user has enough sensation to know that a hot or cold liquid is inside the cup, yet not enough sensation to cause discomfort.
The container may be cone shaped so it is nestable as are most paper cups, and the materials of its construction may be inserted into a microwave oven without damage.
The insulating layer may be applied in various configurations. In one embodiment of the invention the foam is applied in a continuous layer on the outside of the cup's sidewall, nearly covering the blank from which the cup is made except for edge areas which are designated for sealing the sidewall to itself and the bottom of the cup and the formation of the rolled rim at the top of the cup.
In another embodiment of the invention, the outer insulating coating is applied as a pattern of matrix elements, which may be dots, lines, quadrangles, arcs, letters, symbols, or any other fanciful configuration. The interrupted pattern saves material, yet still keeps fingers away from the sidewall because of air spaces between the pattern elements are limited so that fingers can not descend between the elements to touch the sidewall.
In yet another embodiment, a tie coat is interspersed between the insulating pattern elements and the sidewall to promote adhesion.
In a further embodiment, a thermally insulating outer coating is continuous over most of the blank and pattern elements are printed thereon.
In yet a further embodiment, the outer insulating coating defines a frame within which graphic information may be printed. The outer coating may be continuous or a matrix of pattern elements.
In still a further embodiment a foldable container suitable for hot or cold foods or liquids is insulated with a syntactic foam as described in the previous embodiments.
In an additional embodiment a syntactic foam is supported by a substrate which may be plastic, paper, or paperboard, the substrate being adapted to be formed into a frustro-cone which may be placed over a conventional cup as a sleeve. The foam may be in any number of layers and compositions as described in all the previous embodiments. The sleeve may be attached to a conventional cup or container by any adhesive or sealing method well known in the art. This embodiment has the advantage of providing thermal insulation to the vast inventory of conventional cups or containers.
Multilayer applications may be contemplated for some of the embodiments, and a combination foam employing void containing particles together with a foamimg agent may produce a spongy coating incorporating the void containing particles. Expanded or unexpanded void containing particles may be applied singly or in combination.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will be better understood with consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3468467 (1969-09-01), Amberg
patent: 4237171 (1980-12-01), Laage et al.
patent: 5145107 (1992-09-01), Silver et al.
patent: 5226585 (1993-07-01), Varano
patent: 5363982 (1994-11-01), Sadlier
patent: 5490631 (1996-02-01), Lioka et al.
patent: 5705242 (1998-01-01), Andersen et al.
patent: 5766709 (1998-06-01), Geddes et al.
patent: 5952068 (1999-09-01), Neale et al.
Neale Douglas L.
Pasin Richard J.
Dye Rena L.
Gibbons Del Deo Dolan Griffinger & Vecchione
Insulation Dimension Corporation
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