Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D1/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous material, by throwing ceramic material, by moulding pulped fibrous material or by deep-drawing operations performed on sheet material
  • B65D1/22—Boxes or like containers with side walls of substantial depth for enclosing contents
  • B65D1/26—Thin-walled containers, e.g. formed by deep-drawing operations
  • B65D1/265—Drinking cups

Definitions

• the present invention relates to disposable glasses. PRIOR ART
• Disposable glasses are a known and very widespread article for the advantages of practicality and hygiene they offer. They are made in sheet material, and are packaged by stacking them the one into the other. Disposable glasses are presently manufactured identically equal, i.e. equal in shape and size, in each package. This. However, impedes a priori the exact coupling of a glass into the other up to the reciprocal abutment of the bottoms thereof, as the lateral walls of the glasses will jam up with each other beforehand, so that the number turns out to be reduced of glasses that can be packaged in a stack for a given height of the stack itself.
• the annular bulging determines a zone which easily breaks under compression of the rim in a diametrical direction, as can be inadvertently applied keeping the glass in a hand.
• the present invention purs itself the object of providing disposable glasses that can be packaged in a stack with the maximum degree of compactness, so as to reduce the encumbrance of the package substantially, the number of glasses being the same, or to increase the number sensibly of glasses packaged, the height of the stack being the same, bringing it to the physically possible minimum, given by the thickness of the sheet material of the glasses itself.
• the present invention achieves the aforesaid objects by providing that the glasses have decreasing sizes with the lateral walls and the rims thereof both so conformed that once the glasses arranged in a stack the one into the other, the lateral walls and the rims are mated by overlapping, with reciprocal abutment of said bottoms.
• the inventive glasses do not present the annular bulging of the rim of prior art glasses.
• the elimination of the annular bulging may be obtained by resorting to ex-novo molds or by modifying the present molds for their manufacturing.
• the rims of disposable glasses according to the present invention have profiles that can be perfectly mated by overlapping, wherein by ⁇ perfectly' it is to be meant that they overlap the one onto the other with no force fitting.
• the rims fall which are flush with the lateral wall.
• the rims may have a planar, simple or pressed-flap projecting lip.
• the lip may be for instance conical too.
• the present invention envisages that the rims of the inventive glasses are equipped with respective grip tongues projecting radially. In a stack of glasses, these ones may be so arranged that the tongues turn out to be staggered relative to each other angularly in a helicoidal arrangement along the axial direction of the stack.
• a kit of disposable glasses having respective rims to be brought to the mouth and respective bottoms, and that can be packaged the one into the other in a stack, characterized in that the glasses are of decreasing sizes, said lateral walls and the rims thereof both being so conformed that putting the glasses in a stack the one inside the other, said lateral walls and said rims mate by overlapping, with reciprocal abutment of said bottoms, to the object of the maximum packaging compactness of the glasses.
• said lateral walls of the glasses are smooth.
• said lateral walls respectively bear a helical rib bucklings for the reciprocal engagement of a glass within the other for the screwing thereof up to the abutment of the respective bottoms .
• said rims are flush with said lateral walls.
• said rims are endowed with a planar lip.
• said planar lip may be a pressed-flap lip.
• said rims are endowed with respective conical lips having a taper that decreases from glass to glass.
• inventive glasses bring a great advantage relative to prior art ones as regards logistics. Indeed, the sector of concern works with a very little added value, and the profit margin is minimum on these products.
• the space saving advantage in the packaging of inventive disposable glasses corresponds to having to effect a lesser number of full-load trips in distributing the product, allowing a greater profit.
• the sales too may ⁇ be increased as a consequence of the advantage of space economy for the purchaser. Indeed the glasses turn out to be more practical both at home and on the journey, in refreshment rooms and in automatic beverage dispensers.
• inventive glasses determine a sensible increase of the diametrical flexibility of the glasses compared with prior art ones, which break easily if compressed in diametrical direction.
• FIGURE 1 represents a stack of two prior-art disposable glasses in a lateral view
• - FIGURE 2 represents a stack of two disposable glasses according to an embodiment of the present invention in a lateral view;
• FIGURE 3 represents a stack of a plurality of glasses according to another embodiment of the present invention, in a top view, i.e. from the part of the rim of the glasses;
• FIGURE 4 represents an enlargement of the rim of prior-art glasses
• FIGURE 5 represents an enlargement of the planar rim of the inventive glasses of FIGURE 2;
• FIGURE ⁇ represents a planar rim of an inventive glass in a pressed-flap embodiment
• FIGURE 7 illustrates a view in a partial section of a stack of glasses
• - FIGURE 8 represents an embodiment with the lateral wall of the glasses which bears a helix buckling for the reciprocal engaging of a glass into the other by screwing .
• prior art disposable glasses 1, 11 are illustrated. Glass 11 is stacked within glass 1.
• the glasses are identically equal, i.e. equal in shape and size. This a priori impedes the exact coupling of glass 11 within glass 1, where by ⁇ exact' it is to be meant with the abutment of bottom 15 up bottom 5, as the lateral wall of glass 11 will be blocked in the lateral wall of glass 1 beforehand.
• glasses 1, 11 are respectively endowed with rims having an annular bulging 3, 13, as better seen in FIGURE 4. This too would impede the abutment of bottom 15 on bottom 5, as bottom 15 would be anyhow blocked at a distance from bottom 5 at least equal to thickness L of annular bulging 13.
• disposable glasses 301 in a stack have lateral walls 302 and rims 303 thereof both so conformed that stacking glasses the one into the other, the lateral walls and the rims mate by overlapping, with reciprocal abutment of bottoms 305 , with the aim of the maximum compactness of the packaging of glasses.
• the glasses are of sizes which are not equal, but that decrease from the maximum size of glass 301B at the bottom of the stack up to the minimum size of glass 301T at the top of the stack.
• the capacity of the glasses for instance may vary from 206 cc of the glass at the bottom of the stack, or the most external one, to 194 cc of the glass at the top of the stack, i.e. the most internal one.
• the inventive glasses may have the lateral wall smooth, i.e. without projections or recesses of any type, particularly without ribs.
• FIGURE 8 an embodiment is illustrated in FIGURE 8 wherein the lateral wall of the glasses 202, 212 bears a helical rib buckling 207, 217 for the reciprocal engaging of a glass within the other by screwing up to the abutment of respective bottoms 205, 215.
• FIGURE 2 illustrates glasses having lateral walls 102, 112 respectively endowed with planar lips 103, 113, as better seen in FIGURE 5, such as not to determine a thickness along the axis of the stack that determines a hindrance to the abutment of the bottoms of the glasses.
• the inventive glasses 101, 111 arranged in a stack with glass 111 in glass 101 are such as there is not hindrance in respective bottoms 105, 115 abutting with each other. So, bottoms 105, 115 are mating with each other, as represented in FIGURE 2, whereby the object of the present invention is reached.
• planar lip is a pressed-flap lip 203, i.e. it is planar with a double thickness instead of a simple thickness.
• a conical projecting lip too is such, like planar lips 103, 113, as not to interfere with the abutment of the bottoms and therefore falls within the inventive concept.
• a lip which is flush with the lateral wall of the glasses falls too within the inventive concept.
• inventive disposable glasses 20I 1 ... 201 N a stack is illustrated from above of inventive disposable glasses 20I 1 ... 201 N . It is envisaged within the inventive concept that the rim of the glasses is provided with a respective tongue 207i ...
• the glasses may be so arranged that the tongues arrange themselves angularly staggered along a helix along the axial direction of the stack, so as to facilitate the grip thereof, as can be seen in FIGURE 3A.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Buffer Packaging (AREA)

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• 2009
  • 2009-02-10 EP EP09787643A patent/EP2437985A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2009-02-10 WO PCT/IT2009/000051 patent/WO2010092601A1/en not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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