US20080289987A1

US20080289987A1 - Disposable containers package

Info

Publication number: US20080289987A1
Application number: US11/805,680
Authority: US
Inventors: Xiao Dong Yang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-05-23
Filing date: 2007-05-23
Publication date: 2008-11-27

Abstract

A disposable containers package includes a plurality of identical disposable containers, and an identification arrangement. Each of the disposable containers has a container body defining a receiving cavity. The identification arrangement includes a plurality of identification badges formed on main container bodies of the disposable containers respectively, wherein each of the identification badges contains a unique identification element formed on the corresponding identification badge for uniquely identifying the corresponding disposable container so as to render each of the disposable containers recognizable by several users thereof through the unique identification element.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a container, and more particularly to a disposable container package comprising an identification arrangement which is capable of allowing users of the disposable containers to uniquely identify each of the disposable containers without recourse to undue inconvenience.
2. Description of Related Arts
Disposable containers, such as disposable party cups, have widely been regarded and in fact been utilized to provide a highly convenient and economical means of carrying beverage in a wide variety of activities and functions, such as a large-scale party. Organizers of such a party do not wish to spend much money and labor for preparing and transporting conventional non-disposable containers which are usually heavy in weight and bulky in size, and for cleaning those non-disposable containers after the relevant function has ended. As a result, many organizers wish to utilize disposable containers for the sake of convenience and cost-effectiveness.
Despite their convenience and cost-effectiveness, there are several disadvantages in relation to the conventional disposable containers, such as disposable party cups. First, almost all conventional disposable containers are manufactured and packed in a package containing a predetermined amount of identical disposable containers. As a result, when the package is opened and the disposable containers are retrieved for use by many people, they are simply not identifiable in the sense that each particular user cannot, after using and putting it aside, recognize his or her own cup again because every single disposable cup is identical to each other. The user may therefore dispose of his or her used cup and get a new one every time he or she consumes a drink. This scenario is particularly problematic in that users of disposable cups would simply waste a substantial amount of the disposable containers and may actually render the total amount of disposable cups embarrassingly inadequate for a particular activity. Even when people are aware of the possible environment impact and potential cups shortage problems, what they can do is actually very little. When many people are participating in an activity such as a party, they may use the wrong cups and this cause obvious hygiene problem.
As an attempt to mitigate these inconveniences, some people may bring pens with them they would put their names on the cups which they have used so that others will not take the wrong cup. While this ‘strategy’ works fairly well for those who have pens, many more cups or containers are still left unattended because many people do not usually have pens with them and those who have may even do not bother to write any mark on the cups. As a result, the old problem persists.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

A main object of the present invention is to provide a disposable container package which comprises an identification arrangement capable of allowing users of the disposable containers to uniquely identify each of the disposable containers without recourse to undue inconvenience.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable container package which comprises an identification arrangement comprising a plurality of identification badges uniquely formed on each of the disposable containers so as to allow recognition of each of the disposable containers by the corresponding identification badge.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable container package comprising an identification arrangement which aims to promote an environmentally friendly and hygienically sound practice in using disposable containers by fellow consumers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable container package comprising an identification arrangement which provides an easy and convenient way of distinguishing and identifying substantially identical disposable containers, wherein the identification arrangement can be properly adapted to fit different types of disposable containers and for different environments in which the disposable containers are to be utilized.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable container package comprising an identification arrangement which is easy and economical to manufacture so not to impose significant manufacturing costs to the disposable containers. As such, the original purposes of utilizing disposable containers, i.e. convenient and cost-effective from the point of view of activities' organizers, are not noticeably undermined.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a disposable container package, comprising:
a plurality of identical disposable containers, wherein each of the disposable containers has a container body defining a receiving cavity; and
an identification arrangement which comprises a plurality of identification badges formed on main container bodies of the disposable containers respectively, wherein each of the identification badges contains a unique identification element formed on the corresponding identification badge for uniquely identifying the corresponding disposable container so as to render each of the disposable containers recognizable by several users thereof through the unique identification element.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a disposable container package according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the disposable container package according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating that the identification badges are printed onto the disposable containers respectively.

FIG. 3 is a first alternative mode of the disposable container package according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 2 of the drawings, a disposable containers package according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, in which the disposable containers package comprises a plurality of substantially identical disposable containers 10, and an identification arrangement 20.
Each of the plurality of identical disposable containers 10, such as a disposable party cup or a plastic bottle, has a container body 11 which defines a receiving cavity 12 within the container body 11.
The identification arrangement 20 comprises a plurality of identification badges 21 formed on the container bodies 11 of the disposable containers 10 respectively, wherein each of the identification badges 21 contains a unique identification element 211 formed on the corresponding identification badge 21 for uniquely identifying the corresponding disposable container 10 so as to render each of the disposable containers 10 recognizable by several users thereof through the unique identification element 211 for uniquely distinguishing one disposable container 10 from others.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the disposable containers 10 is embodied as a plastic bottle (FIG. 1) in which the container body 11 has an outer surface 13 for allowing the corresponding identification badge 21 to be formed thereon. It is noted that the disposable containers 10 are preferably made of plastic material, yet they can also be made of paper materials for different kinds of disposable containers 10.
On the other hand, each of the identification badges 21 has a unique identification sign as the unique identification element 211 coated on the outer surface 13 of the corresponding disposable container 10, wherein the identification sign coating contains a recognizable sign, such as a numerical number, or an alphabet, formed on the outer surface 13 for uniquely distinguishing each of the disposable containers 10 from the other. For example, if the disposable containers package comprises altogether twenty six disposable containers 10, the unique identification elements 211 form the twenty six English alphabets (i.e. A-Z) on the disposable containers 10 respectively, so that each of the disposable containers 10 is uniquely distinguishable from each other. Alternatively, the unique identification elements 211 may take other forms, such as numerical characters (e.g. 1-100), different combinations of English alphabets (e.g. A-Z, AA, AB, AC . . . etc.), characters of other language systems (e.g. I, II, III, IV, V . . . etc.), a combination of alphabets or characters (e.g. “M A R Y”), or even a specific figure or drawing (e.g. a dog or a hen). The purpose of the identification badges 21 is to uniquely distinguish each of the each of the disposable containers 20 from the other so that users of the present invention know readily whether or not that a particular disposable container 20 belongs to him or her.
As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, each of the disposable containers 20 may have a particular package tag attached onto the container body 11, wherein the identification badges 21 are printed onto the package tag of the container body 11 of the corresponding disposable container 10. Alternatively, each of the identification badges 21 may be provided directly onto the container body 11 so that the identification element 211 is formed on the corresponding outer surface of the container body 11 of the disposable container. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, each of the identification elements 211 (graphical logos in this case) is directly formed on the aluminum cans as the disposable containers 10.
Referring to FIG. 3 of the drawings, a first alternative mode of the disposable containers package according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The first alternative mode is similar to the preferred embodiment except the identification arrangement 20′. According to the first alternative mode, each of the identification badges 21′ comprises a sticker detachably attached onto the outer surface 13′ of the container body 11′ for the corresponding disposable container 10, wherein the unique identification elements 211′ are formed on the stickers respectively in such a manner that when the sticker attaches onto the container body 11′, the corresponding unique identification element 211′ is adapted to uniquely distinguish that disposable container 10′ from the others. In other words, a user is able to pick which identification badge 21′ he or she wishes to use for distinguishing his or her disposable container 10′. For example, the user may pick four identification badges 21′ each bearing the alphabet constituting his or her name so that the unique identification elements 211′ may form the word, say, “M A R Y” for a given female user.
It is worth mentioning that the disposable container package may further comprise a containing pack 30′ storing the disposable containers 10 and the identification arrangement 20′. Thus, the disposable container package can be conveniently available to users.
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A disposable containers package, comprising:

a package;

a plurality of identical disposable containers being packed in said package, wherein each of said disposable containers has a container body defining a receiving cavity; and

an identification arrangement which comprises a plurality of identification badges formed on main container bodies of said disposable containers respectively, wherein each of said identification badges contains a unique identification element formed on said corresponding identification badge for uniquely identifying said corresponding disposable container so as to render each of said disposable containers recognizable by several users thereof through said unique identification element.

2. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said unique identification elements comprises a unique identification sign printed on an outer surface of said corresponding disposable container, wherein said identification sign coating contains a recognizable sign formed on said outer surface for uniquely distinguishing each of said disposable containers from said other disposable containers.

3. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said disposable containers comprises a package tag attached thereon, wherein each of said unique identification elements comprises a unique identification sign printed on said corresponding package tag of said disposable container, wherein said identification sign coating contains a recognizable sign formed on said package tag for uniquely distinguishing each of said disposable containers from said other disposable containers.

4. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 2, wherein said unique identification signs of said identification elements are different English alphabets printed on said disposable containers so as to distinguish each of said disposable containers from said other disposable containers.

5. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 3, wherein said unique identification signs of said identification elements are different English alphabets printed on said package tag of said disposable containers so as to distinguish each of said disposable containers from said other disposable containers.

6. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 2, wherein said unique identification signs of said identification elements are different numerical characters printed on said disposable containers so as to distinguish each of said disposable containers from said other disposable containers.

7. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 3, wherein said unique identification signs of said identification elements are different numerical characters printed on said package tag of said disposable containers so as to distinguish each of said disposable containers from said other disposable containers.

8. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 4, wherein each of said disposable containers is a disposable paper-made party cup, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said disposable paper-made party cup.

9. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 6, wherein each of said disposable containers is a disposable paper-made party cup, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said disposable paper-made party cup.

10. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 7, wherein each of said disposable containers is a disposable paper-made party cup, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said disposable paper-made party cup.

11. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 4, wherein each of said disposable containers is a liquid bottle, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said disposable liquid bottle.

12. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 6, wherein each of said disposable containers is a liquid bottle, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said disposable liquid bottle.

13. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 7, wherein each of said disposable containers is a liquid bottle, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said disposable liquid bottle.

14. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 4, wherein each of said disposable containers is a disposable aluminum can, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said aluminum can.

15. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 6, wherein each of said disposable containers is a disposable aluminum can, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said aluminum can.

16. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 7, wherein each of said disposable containers is a disposable aluminum can, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said aluminum can.

17. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 2, wherein each of said identification badges comprises a sticker detachably attached onto an outer surface of said corresponding container body of said corresponding disposable container, wherein said unique identification elements are formed on said stickers respectively in such a manner that when said sticker attaches onto said container body, said unique identification element is adapted to uniquely distinguish said disposable container from said other disposable containers.

18. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 17, wherein said unique identification signs of said identification elements are different English alphabets printed on said disposable containers so as to distinguish each of said disposable containers from said other disposable containers.

19. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 17, wherein said unique identification signs of said identification elements are different numerical characters printed on said disposable containers so as to distinguish each of said disposable containers from said other disposable containers.

20. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 18, wherein each of said disposable containers is a disposable paper-made party cup, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said disposable paper-made party cup.

21. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 19, wherein each of said disposable containers is a disposable paper-made party cup, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said disposable paper-made party cup

22. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 18, wherein each of said disposable containers is a disposable aluminum can, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said aluminum can.

23. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 19, wherein each of said disposable containers is a disposable aluminum can, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said aluminum can.

24. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 18, wherein each of said disposable containers is a liquid bottle, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said disposable liquid bottle.

25. The disposable containers package, as recited in claim 19, wherein each of said disposable containers is a liquid bottle, wherein said identification badges are formed on an outer surface of said disposable liquid bottle.