CN1689918A - Collapsible drinking and storage containers - Google Patents

Abstract

A collapsible container, such as a drinking cup, has a disc-shaped base and a disc-shaped lid which mate and engage with each other by means of a catch. A molded inner cup having a base connected to the base and a rim surrounded by a ring is sealed to the lid and pops up from the base to erect the cup when the catch is released.

Description

Collapsible drinking and storage containers

This application is related to provisional application 60/353,616, filed February 1, 2002.

technical field

My present application relates to a collapsible drinking and/or storage container, in particular a drinking cup or similar container which can be folded into a substantially flat shape.

Background technique

It is relatively common in the art to employ a collapsible structure and a conical cup with circular sections that seal against each other when the cup is deployed. Other collapsible container configurations are also common. See, for example, US Patent 4,865,211, which relates to a collapsible bottle in which the walls are reversed when the bottle is folded, or a larger diameter section mounted on top of a smaller diameter section where it is continuously joined . The bottle is made of plastic.

The patent explores other container geometries that allow the container to be folded and unfolded, including US Patent 2,880,902, which uses a bellows-structured drinking cup. US Patent 2723776 discloses a tubular plastic container with spiral ridges. US Patent No. 4,865,211 also mentions this type of container, which also mentions other collapsible or collapsible container designs.

Reference is also made to drinking tube and container systems in collapsible configurations, and to collapsible baby feeding bottles (see US Patent 5,439,125 and earlier patents described or referred to therein).

Despite the considerable prior art of collapsible containers, there remains a need for a collapsible container that is stable, securely sealed, compact in its collapsed or collapsed position, and can be expanded or extended into a conveniently usable container for beverages or the like and used Containers for storage, and other containers that can be compressed and stored efficiently in a flat state.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible container which does not have the disadvantages of previous containers and containers, is inexpensive to manufacture, can be folded into a particularly thin and flat structure, is lightweight and has an attractive appearance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved collapsible drinking cup, which can be reused for a long time without leaking, is easy to use, and can be folded and erected in a simple manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage container which itself can be stored in a small space when not in use.

As will be apparent hereinafter, these and other objects are achieved by a collapsible container of the present invention having a wide mouth and a small bottom, and a continuous wall of plastics film connecting the bottom to the rim of the mouth, which can It is folded so that the rim of the cup mouth and the bottom are coplanar or substantially in the same plane in the folded state. According to the present invention, there is an elastic cup of silicon rubber or other shape-memory synthetic resin between the rim and the bottom, the cup can be folded between the lid and the chassis, so that it can automatically spring from the compressed position to the expanded position, and the wall The membrane maintains a good seal between the ring defining the mouth and the bottom.

According to a feature of the invention, the cup-shaped body is helically corrugated so that the membrane wall is folded in a predetermined pattern between the lid and the chassis.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the bottom of the cup consists of or is connected to a disc-shaped part which engages with another disc-shaped part formed by the mouth or on the rim of the cup, the two The two disc-shaped parts are interconnected by a releasable hook that keeps the cup in a compact or compressed position.

A removable lid traverses the mouth of the cup to seal the latter in its closed position, for example, when the cup is filled with a drink and the user wishes to move the drink from one place to another.

The lid itself is conveniently attached to the disc-shaped part above by a hinge or hook system. The entire cup can be made of synthetic resin material, which can be injection molded or molded, so that the overall cost of the collapsible cup is minimized. The lid and bottom of the cup can be embossed or formed with a logo, pattern or text during the injection molding process or through a printing process, making the release of the cup a promotional message or otherwise.

The principles of the invention described above can be applied to containers in general, especially food containers, such as refrigeration and storage containers, which must be sealed and the food therein must be protected from loss of moisture or entry of air or moisture into the container.

When it is a cup, the elastic membrane body can have a generally circular cross-section; when it is a food container, the membrane body can be a rectangular cross-section, a spiral shape, an ellipse or other cross-sections as required.

The lid and lid of the container should be capable of sealing to the upper rim of the cup.

According to a feature of the invention, the lid is removable, or has a straw opening in the lid to allow beverages to be drunk through the aperture.

Description of drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages will be more apparent through the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. in,

The front view of the expanded shape of Fig. 1 cup;

The exploded view of Fig. 2 cup;

The perspective view when the cup is unfolded in Fig. 3;

The transverse sectional view of the cup along the IV-IV line in Fig. 4 Fig. 1;

The bottom view of the cup of Fig. 5;

The top view of the cup of Fig. 6;

Figure 7 Perspective view of the lid;

The transverse sectional view of Fig. 8 lid;

The bottom view of the cover of Fig. 9;

The perspective view of Figure 10 cup rim;

Figure 11 is a transverse sectional view of the circle;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of the inside of the collapsible cup;

The front view of the cup body of Fig. 13;

Figure 14 is a transverse sectional view along line XIV-XIV in Figure 13;

Figure 15 Perspective view of the base;

The bottom view of the base of Figure 16;

The top view of the base of Figure 17;

The side view of Figure 18 base;

Figure 19 A folded cup; and

Figure 20 is a schematic illustration of a food storage container utilizing the principles of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The collapsible cup, the main components of which are shown in Figures 1-3, includes an upwardly directed circular injection molded disc-shaped base or base 10, a plastic, collapsible, downwardly tapering, made of, for example, silicon A cup-shaped portion 11 made of a food-retaining material such as rubber or other elastomer, an injection molded synthetic resin rim 12 and a disc-shaped lid 13 also injection molded.

The unfolded position of the cup is shown in FIG. 1 , and its folded position is shown in FIG. 19 .

As can be readily seen in Figures 12-14, the inner cup 11 has a relatively thick base 15 with lugs 16 spaced about the base and shaped so that they are press-fit to the lugs. In the same number of corresponding grooves 17 of the flange 18, the flange 18 is molded integrally with the bottom 10 (see Figs. 15-18), and the flange 18 is spaced apart by notches 19 having a circumference or arc length equal to the flange. . Therefore, in order to combine the bottom 10 and the inner cup body 11, when the lug 16 of the base 15 is placed in the notch 19, the base 15 and the bottom 10 can be rotated relative to each other, so that the lug 16 enters the groove 17 closely, The bottom 10 is thus locked to the inner cup 11 .

The inner cup 11 is integrally injection molded, having an upright thin wall 20 of frusto-conical configuration diverging upwards to the mouth 21 or converging downwards to the base 15, but shaped with slight helical corrugations 22, which form For the cup wall, it is convenient for the cup wall to fold sequentially when the cup spout 21 is pressed to the base 15 . However, the cup wall 20 is sufficiently resilient to have its own elastic movement, in effect a spring, springing upward into the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 14 when the lid is off the bottom.

A rim 23 molded integrally with the cup wall 20 is pressed onto an annular shoulder 25 of the ring 12 into an outwardly open recess 26 of the ring. The ring 12, known as the mouth ring, is injection molded with a skirt 27 of decreasing thickness down the peripheral portion of the cup 22 for stability of the mouth and sealing with the lid when the cup is folded.

The bottom 10, the cup rim 12 and the lid 13 are formed by injection molding of the same material with relative hardness, food approval and no reaction with food. The bezel is sized to fit snugly beneath the lid surface 31 of the part 13 around the downwardly extending flange 30, the outer wall 32 of the part 13 diverging downwardly, which may have an outer structure 33 for easy gripping and three Angularly evenly distributed internal formations or protrusions 34 which constitute the bayonet fasteners of the bottom part will be described in more detail below. Thus, the space 35 between the flange 30 and the wall 32 accommodates the mouth of the inner cup formed by the ring 12 and the rim 23 .

Cover wall 30 which may have an aperture 36 covered by a shutter 37 having an opening 38 pressed by a pin 39 (compare Figures 2 and 8), the outer surface of which may be embossed or printed with promotional material, a cooperative logo or other Text, decorative or artistic material or information.

A shutter 37 in the lid 13 closes the aperture 36, but the shutter can be deflected when a straw is inserted through the aperture 36.

Base 10 has three angularly spaced bayonet members 40 that receive protrusions 34 . These bayonet members comprise a downwardly extending groove 41 below a ridge 43 leading to a peripheral groove 42 , formed by downwardly and outwardly diverging wings 44 of a side wall 45 of the bottom 10 . Because the wings 44 diverge outward when the lid is pressed onto the base 10, the protrusions 34 slide along the wings 44, eventually jumping into the grooves 42 of the respective bayonet members. Finally, the folded position shown in Figure 19 is formed. To open the cup, the base 10 and lid 13 are rotated relative to each other until the protrusion enters the groove 41 . As the thickness of the wings 44 decreases upwards, the protrusions are released from the grooves 41, the base 10 can be separated from the lid, and the cup jumps to its unfolded position. The lid can then be removed and the cup sipped. The bottom wall 50 of the cup may be formed by a pair of recesses 51 and 52 having steep sides 53 and 54 which allow the user to grip it and facilitate relative rotation of the bottom and lid.

The rim 23 forms a gasket which can be sealed by the lid 123 when the lid is placed over the cup in its unfolded position to store the contents.

In the compressed position, the cup may have an overall height of about 1 inch or less compared to an expanded height of almost 4 inches and an overall diameter of slightly more than 4 inches.

An application of the same principle to a food container 60 is shown in Figure 20, wherein the wall 61 has a helical corrugation 62 molded between an upper rim 63 and a base member 64 mounted in the middle of the skirt 65 of the flange. , In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-9 there are identical hooks 66, 67 to secure the container in a closed position. Only a slight relative rotation is required to engage and disengage the hooks. Of course the food container can also be of other shapes, and can have various lids, either permanently affixed to part 63, or instead mounted on rim 63, for example, containers sold under the trade mark TUPPERWARE have specific lids .

In both embodiments of the invention, the base member 10 or 65, the wall 11 or 61, the rim member 23 or 63 and any cover (eg 21) may be embossed or otherwise provided with promotional indicia. Furthermore, in both embodiments the rim part 23 or bottom member 10, although generally flat, is designed to fit within the other part in the collapsed state of the container.

Claims (14)

1. A collapsible container comprising: a substantially flat bottom member; A memory-retaining, inherently resilient, molded one-piece cup-shaped body having a base attached to the base member, a base extending upwardly from the base member to the mouth of the cup-shaped body in the erected state of the cup-shaped body. the folding wall; a rim surrounding the mouth and connected to the wall; a cover member movably mounted on said mouth and rim; A hook formed on said member for releasably locking said lid member to said base member in the container collapsed condition, said wall elastically propping up when said catch is released. 2. A collapsible container as claimed in claim 1, wherein in said collapsed condition said members cooperate with each other. 3. The collapsible container of claim 1, wherein the cup-shaped body is constructed of elastomer. 4. The collapsible container of claim 1, wherein said wall is a film of synthetic resin material. 5. The collapsible container of claim 1, wherein the lid seals the rim, closing the mouth of the cup. 6. The collapsible container of claim 5, wherein the container is a drinking cup, said wall tapering inwardly from said rim to said bottom member. 7. The collapsible container of claim 6, further comprising a closable aperture formed in said lid member through which the drink in the cup can be drawn. 8. The collapsible container of claim 1, wherein said wall is helically corrugated to cause said wall to fold sequentially. 9. The collapsible container of claim 1, wherein said base member has an upwardly flared wall receivable within a downwardly extending skirt formed on said lid member. 10. The collapsible container of claim 9, wherein said hooks comprise protrusions on said skirt and L-shaped grooves formed at said upwardly extending walls of said base member, at This forms a bayonet connection. 11. The collapsible container of claim 6, wherein at least one of said lid, said wall, said rim, and said bottom member is branded. 12. The collapsible container of claim 1, wherein the container is in the form of a closeable food container, wherein said members are geometrically similar and non-circular. 13. A collapsible container as claimed in claim 12, wherein one of said members is stowable within the other in the collapsed state of the container. 14. The collapsible container of claim 12, wherein one of said members has a protrusion and the other has an L-shaped recess for receiving said protrusion, making the hook a bayonet connection.

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