The present invention relates to a set comprising a drinking cup and a holder accomodating same.
US-A-3 596 795 discloses a set according to the prior art of Claim 1 and 2 respectively. The set comprises a drinking cup and a holder therefore, both provided with matching means. The matching means of the drinking cup consists of circular recesses arranged in the outer drinking cup wall. The matching means of the holder consists of circular recesses arranged in the inner holderwall. In the accomodated form the circular projections of the holder are received in the circular recesses of the drinking cup.
GB-A-1 027 666 discloses a set of which the holder comprises projections which are circumferentially spaced apart over the inner holderwall. These projections support the drinking cup in the accomodated form and touch the imaginary exterior envelope of the outer drinking cup surface which avoids any wall structures.
CH-A-437 014discloses a drinking cup having knops circumferentially spaced apart over the outer drinking cup surface. These knobs serve two functions. In the first function the knobs snap under a circular projection in the inner holder wall to lock the drinking cup in the accomodated form. In the second function the knobs nested in other cups assure a clearance between adjacent drinking cup walls, so that a drinking cup is easily removed from a pile of nested drinking cups.
The invention has for its object to provide a set which can be assembled from only one type of holder and only one type of drinking cup. In a first aspect of the invention this is achieved with a set comprising a drinking cup and a holder accomodating the drinking cup, comprising mutually cooperating matching means comprising projections arranged circumferentially on a holder wall facing the drinking cup and recesses arranged in a drinking cup wall and suitable for receiving the projections characterized by the fact that the matching means and recesses are circumferentially spaced apart, and that the projections extend in the accomodated form through an imaginary exterior envelope through the undisturbed outer surface of the drinking cup into the recesses.
In a second aspect this is achieved according to the invention with a set comprising a drinking cup and a holder accomodating the drinking cup, comprising mutually cooperating matching means comprising projections arranged circumferentially in a drinking cup wall and recesses arranged in a holder wall facing the drinking cup suitable for receiving the projections characterized by the fact that the matching means and recesses are circumferentially spaced apart, and that the projections extend in the accomodated form through an imaginary interior envelope through the undisturbed inner surface of the holder into the recesses.
Particular embodiments of the invention are set out in Claims 3 to 10.
It should be remarked here that if the matching means extends only through the exterior envelope of the drinking cup, a drinking cup results which can be used not only in the set according to the invention but also in an appropriate holderwithout the means referred to above.
According to a first embodiment, the matching means comprises at least one recess arranged in the drinking cup wall and a projection arranged on the holder wall. If walls of the recess diverge in the direction towards the holder wall, whereby the walls of the projection preferably converge towards the drinking cup wall, means result which further assist a rapid assembly of the set of drinking cup and holder, because the projection and the recess have been given a self-aligned form.
If a large number of recesses are arranged in the drinking cupwall at mutual same rotation angles, a relative rotation between drinking cup and holder need be carried out over only a short distance in order to mutually align a projection and recess.
The least complex construction for the holder is obtained if the number of projections is equal to or smaller than the number of recesses.
In another embodiment of the matching means according to the invention, said means comprises at least one drinking cup wall surface which touches and lies at least partially outside the exterior envelope of the drinking cup, whereby said means preferably comprises a number of drinking cup wall surfaces which form an imaginatory regular polygon.
The drinking cup is adequately accomodated and held in place in the holder if the matching means comprises a ring arranged on the holder wall, the passage through which takes the form of the polygon.
The drinking cup and the holder accomodating same form a fitting set of the drinking cup and the holder along one of its upper portions make up a clamping connection at the bottom. It is therefore preferable that the matching means is situated in a central portion of the set.
Mentioned and other characteristics will be described on the basis of a number of non- limitative embodiments given by way of illustration, with reference to the annexed drawings, in which:
A central portion 4 of the drinking cup 1 is provided with recesses 6 arranged in the drinking cup wall 5 around its circumference. The walls diverge in the direction towards the holder wall 11 ofthe holder 2. It shou Id be mentioned that for the sake of clarity only six recesses are shown, but that in practice a large number of recesses at mutual same rotation angles are arranged in the cup wall 5.
The holder 2 is provided on its wall 11 with a number of projections 12, of which the walls 13-16 converge in the direction towards the drinking cup 1. The projections 12 are arranged around the circumference of the holder wall 11 with the same angular rotation compared to the recesses 6. The projection shape is moreover inherently complementary to a portion of the recess shape. By means of the divergent recess walls and the corresponding convergent projection walls, the drinking cup 1 can easily be accomodated in the holder 2 because of the resulting self-aligning effect.
Fig. 3 shows the set 3. It can be clearly seen here thatthe projections 12 extend through the exterior envelope 17 of the drinking cup 1 into the respective recess 6.
It is pointed out emphatically here that the ring shaped wall 28 only extends as far as this exterior envelope 17 and serves to fix a lower portion of the drinking cup 1 in the holder 2.
It will be apparent that if the drinking cup is provided with projections 12 and the holder with recesses 6, the same effect results, with the difference that in these circumstances the drinking cup 1 provided with projections cannot be used in other existing holders.
It should also be mentioned that the number of projections 12 can be smaller than the number of recesses 6. The number of recesses 6 should be as large as possible in order to limit as much as possible the angle of rotation when accomodating the drinking cup 1 in the holder 2.
The figures 4, 5 and 6 show a drinking cup 18, a holder 19 and a set 20 comprising same. In this embodiment the drinking cup 18 is provided with six drinking cup wall surfaces 21, which, as fig. 7 shows in more detail, touch and lie partially outside an exterior envelope 22 ofthe drinking cup 18.
The holder 19 is provided with projections 24 on its interior wall 23. These projections 24 lie, after the forming of the set 20, inside the envelope 25, whereby a projector surface 56 lies against the respective drinking cup wall surface 21. Once more it should be remarked that he ring shaped wall of the holder extends as far as the envelope 25.
Fig. 7 shows a holder 26 which is a variant of the holder 19. In this set comprising drinking cup 18 and holder 26, the drinking cup wall surfaces 21 lie against a passage 27 in a ring 29. The passage 27 lakes the form here of a regular hexagon.
Fig. 8 shows schematically an apparatus 30 for manufacturing a drinking cup 1, 18 according to the invention. Polystyrene sheet 31 is softened in an infra-red unit 32 and the drinking cup form is shaped in the sheet 31 in a shaping unit 33. The drinking cups 1 are cut out of the sheet in a cutting unit 54.
The figures 9a-9e show the different operating positions of the shaping unit 33. The softened sheet 31 is inserted in the unit 33 and clamped under pressure between two rings 34 and 35 arranged under spring bias on either side of the sheet 31. A mould 36 with an inherently smooth surface subsequently presses a basic drinking cup shape in the sheet 31 (fig. 9c). Using compressed air, the pre-stretched sheet is then pressed against the walls of the mould 37. Air present in the space between sheet and mould 37 can escape via passages 39 (fig. 9d).
After a short cooling period, the mould portions 40 and 41 are moved relative to one another, whereby a mould portion part 42 is moved relative to the remaining part 43 of the mould portion 40 over a distance a towards the shaped drinking cup 1 so that same is released from the mould portion 40 (fig. 9e).
Thefigures 10 and 11 show in more detail and on a larger scale the mould parts 44 and 45 respectively used for shaping drinking cups 1 and 18. The structure 46 is complementary to the projection 12 and the structure 47 is complementary to the wall surface 21.
It will be apparent that, using the matching means according to the invention which consist of the co-operating recesses 6 and the projections 12, respectively the wall surfaces 21 and the projections 24 or the ring 29, unique sets, and 20 respectively, are formed, while the drinking cups, 1 and 18 respectively, can be used in known holders, but known drinking cups cannot be used in the holders 2 and 9 respectively.