Cup Dispensing Apparatus

This invention relates to packaging, and more particularly to packaging structure for a stack of nested cups that serves also as dispensing means for the same.

Molded plastic cup dispensers are well known in the art. Stacks of nested cups are loaded into such dispensers, and are presented at an end thereof for dispensing one at a time. Such dispensers require some form of permanent mounting bracket means utilizing, for example, screws, cement, tape, or the like. A dispenser of the molded plastic type also represents an initial investment, and is usually of a construction limiting the user to a particular cup size.

Efforts directed to eliminating need for permanently mounted dispensers in the interest of economy and versatility have resulted in packaging stacks of nested cups in disposable sleeves, some adapted for mounting, and from which the cups may be dispensed individually.

The following is a listing of U.S. Patents believed material to the examination of this application, together with a concise explanation of the relevance of each:

U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,503 discloses a disposable dispenser for nested cups 13 including a cup container 10 provided with an external resilient member 25 having a tapered cup retaining rim 28 through which the cups may be dispensed.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,165,234 discloses a disposable sleeve 14 for holding and dispensing cups C from a nested stack. Circumferential beads 24 are molded adjacent the open end of the sleeve frictionally to retain the cups while accommodating forcible dispensing thereof.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,082 discloses a bag 1 for containing a stack of nested cups 7. The bottom cup 25 of the stack is frictionally retained by a resilient band 5 on the bag while affording forcible removal of a lowermost cup.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,261,500 discloses a sleeve-type dispenser 10 for containing a stack S of nested cups P. Projections 21 frictionally retain the lowermost cup of the stack while accommodating its removal.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,329 discloses a sleeve-shaped dispenser for a stack of nested cups 34. The lowermost cup is frictionally retained within a starburst opening provided in a lower insert 28, and accommodating one-at-a-time removal of the cups.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,365,100 discloses a packaging and dispensing sleeve 56 for containing a stack of nested cups 55. The lowermost cup is retained by a lesser diameter, shrunken portion 61 of the sleeve past which a cup is forcibly removable.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,411,665 discloses a packaging and dispensing sleeve 22 for a stack of nested cups 12. A circumferential bead 44 retains the cups for forcible removal therepast.

It is a general objective of the invention to provide an improved disposable dispenser for a stack of nested paper cups and the like.

It is a further objective of the invention to provide an improved packaging and dispensing sleeve for a stack of nested cups capable of controlled collapsibility upon removal of the cups.

It is a still further objective of the invention to provide an improved cup packaging sleeve which may serve as a disposable dispenser itself, or may be used as a cartridge to aid in insertion of the cups in a permanent dispenser.

In achievement of the foregoing as well as other objectives, the invention contemplates cup dispensing apparatus comprising: a sleeve for containing a stack of nested cups, said sleeve including a plurality of axially extending, circumferentially spaced wall-defining strips of uniform length; means defining a fold line disposed in the region of at least one end of each said strip and circumferentially aligned, transversely extending cut scores on said strips intermediate ends thereof; and detent means disposed toward one end of said sleeve for engagement by the rim of a cup to retain a stack of nested cups in said sleeve, said sleeve being collapsible by folding of said strips about said fold lines and said cut scores outwardly of said sleeve upon urging ends of said sleeve toward one another, as cups are removed from a stack, thereby to maintain engagement of said detent means with a cup rim.

The manner in which the foregoing as well as other objectives and advantages of the invention may best be achieved will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in light of the accompanying drawing.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a paperboard blank from which there is fabricated a disposable cup dispensing sleeve embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a sleeve fabricated from the blank shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 2, and with a stack of nested cups packaged in the sleeve;

FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are sequential operational views similar to FIG. 3, and illustrating collapsibility of the sleeve;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the sleeve seen in FIG. 3, taken in the plane of line 7--7, and looking in the direction of arrows applied thereto;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, and illustrates an operational feature of a portion of the apparatus embodying the invention;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 3 and illustrates an alternative embodiment contemplated by the invention;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken in the plane of line 10--10 in FIG. 9, looking in the direction of arrows applied thereto;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10, and illustrates an operational feature of the alternative embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 9, and illustrates another embodiment contemplated by the invention;

FIG. 13 is a showing similar to FIGS. 9 or 12, and illustrates still another embodiment contemplated by the invention;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged sectional view taken in the plane of line 14--14 in FIG. 13, looking in the direction of arrows applied thereto; and

FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 14, and illustrates an operational feature contemplated by the invention.

With more detailed reference to the drawing, there is seen in FIG. 1 a paperboard blank 10 of generally rectangular configuration including upper and lower bands 11 and 12 of substantially equal width. Three sets of mutually aligned slits 13, 14, and 15 extend in a direction normal to to bands 11 and 12. Sets of slits 13 and 15 terminate on the one hand at bands 11 and 12, respectively, and at bands 16 and 17, on the other hand. Set of slits 14 extend between bands 16 and 17. The sets of slits 13, 14, and 15 are equally laterally spaced and cooperate to define sets of similarly extending strips 18, 19, and 20. Bands 11, 12, 16 and 17 terminate in respective tabs 11a, 12a, 16a, and 17a at the right hand ends thereof. A band 22 comprising a film of plastic material, such as, for example polyethylene, is adhered by a suitable adhesive A, in the region of its upper half 22a, to upper band 11. Further to the construction of blank 10, whch is of a flexible and resilient material, such as, for example, 0.010 inch thick paperboard, the lower ends of strips 18, 19, and 20 are provided with single transverse cut scores 18a, 19a and 20a, respectively, and intermediate portions the same strips are provided with single transverse cut scores 18b, 19b, and 20b, respectively. For reasons to be more fully explained in what follows, cuts 18b, 19b, and 20b are disposed in their respective strips slightly below center, as respects their respective lengths (i.e. closer to cut scores 18a, 19a, 20a than to the other end of their respective strips).

In especial accordance with the invention, and with reference to FIG. 2, a suitable adhesive is applied to the underside of tabs 11a, 12a, 16a and 17a, as viewed in FIG. 1, and blank 10 is curled by known suitable means into a cylindrical configuration 10a in which the aforesaid tabs become adherent to the inner surfaces of the left hand ends of bands 11, 12, 16, and 17, respectively. In such cylindrical configuration, blank 10 is transformed into a generally cylindrical sleeve 10a including a plurality of axially extending, uniformly spaced wall-defining strips of uniform length which in the preferred embodiment comprise the three sets 18, 19, and 20.

Also in forming sleeve 10a, and with reference to FIG. 3, band 22 becomes a circumferentially extending detent means for a stack of nested cups 23, which may be of paper or plastic and are of generally frusto-conical shape, and which stack has been inserted through the lower end of sleeve 10a so that, as also seen to advantage in FIG. 7, the rim 23a of the uppermost or end cup is disposed adjacent the lower edge of band 22 and the main body portion of the same cup projects outwardly of the sleeve. As the first cup 23 is removed, and with reference to FIG. 8, the free, lower portion 22b of band 22 is folded upwardly. Band 22, in either its original or folded position, will afford a frictional force sufficient to prevent inadvertant removal of a projecting cup 23, which frictional force will accommodate sliding removal of a cup from the sleeve. In order to remove a cup 23, a user need only grasp the dispenser sleeve 10a by one hand, while grasping and pulling the projecting end cup by the other hand. It is further to be understood that to overcome need for using both hands, the illustrated lower end of sleeve 10a may be adhered or fastened to support plane P by some known means, not shown.

As the cups 23 are used, the height of the stack will diminish, for example, to a quantity as is seen in FIG. 4. For such a quantity as shown, the upper end of sleeve 10a (broken line showing) will extend over a major portion of the projecting cup, making it somewhat difficult to grasp. To overcome this difficulty the user manually forces the upper band 11 downwardly to the full line showing thereof. This movement advantageously is achieved by the controlled folding of strips 18, outwardly of the sleeve as is afforded by suitably located cut scores 18a and 18b, taken with flexibility and resilience of the paperboard material of the strips themselves. It will be appreciated that the invention contemplates other thicknesses of paperboard, as well as plastic materials such as, for example, similarly formed, foldable sheets of polyethylene, foamed polystrene, and the like. The downward pivotation about cuts 18a of the lower portions of strips 18 (i.e. the portions between cut scores 18a, and 18b) occurs because this is the shorter section of the strip, the upper sections being longer and compensating therefor by bowing slightly inwardly as seen in FIG. 4, as the same upper sections fold transversely of their upper end portions. Continued downward displacement of band 11 will occur until the folded portion 22b of band 22 engages the rim 23a of the end cup, which displacement is accompanied by a snapping, overcenter movement of the folded strips 18 wherein the bowed longer portion thereof straightens out and urges the shorter portions toward the sleeve, thereby establishing and maintaining the shortened or partially collapsed mode of sleeve 10a. After additional quantities of cups are removed, reducing the height of the stack, the sections are successively collapsible (i.e. the center section followed by the lower section) until the mode seen in FIG. 6 is attained, from which all remaining cups may be removed.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is seen in FIG. 9, where in detent means for restraining the endmost cup 23 of a stack comprises a row of semidisk-shaped tabs 122 pierced from the material of band 111 and folded inwardly about its diametrically retained portion 122a at a slight angle to the wall of the sleeve, as is seen to advantage in FIG. 10. The semidisk-shaped tabs 122 are so disposed that the aforementioned fold lines 122a extend with slight angularity as respects the plane of endmost cup rim 23a, which is plane substantially normal to the polar axis of the sleeve. An arcuate edge portion of each tab 122 engages the rim 23a of the endmost cup 23 to retain the latter and the remainder of the stack in the sleeve.

Upon removal of the end cup 23, and with reference to FIG. 11, tabs 122 are urged pivotally upwardly by cup rim 23a to the illustrated broken line position and from which position tabs 122 spring downwardly, due to resilience of the paperboard, to the full line showing thereof to engage the rim 23a of the next cup in the stack. By virtue of the circular shape of the edge of the tab, taken with angular disposition of the diametrically extending line of fold, essentially point contact is maintained between the rim 23a and the edge of tab 122. This mode of contact ensures improved cup retention coupled with ease of cup release while affording effective contact throughout the life of the paperboard material from which the sleeve is fabricated.

A further alternative embodiment of the invention is seen in FIG. 12 wherein the detent means comprises radially inwardly folded tabs 222 of generally trapezoidal configuration having upper, major base or long edge portions defined by fold lines 222a that extend horizontally, and which tabs have generally straight line edges that engage the cup rims 23a in retention and release thereof, in a manner similar to that shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

Still another alternative embodiment contemplated by the invention is seen in FIG. 13, wherein an inwardly projecting circumferential bead 322 is formed in sleeve band portion 311. Bead 322 is disposed and adapted to engage the rim 23a of an endmost cup 23. Due to flexibility and resilience of the paperboard in which band 311 is formed, taken with the inherent flexibility and resilience of a cup, the latter is readily slid past the bead upon application thereto of outwardly, or upwardly, directed force relative to the sleeve. If desired, a series of spaced, parallel beads may be provided.

While in any of the embodiments it is contemplated that the collapsible dispensing sleeve be formed first, followed by insertion of a stack of nested cups, it will be understood that several sleeve blanks may be formed integrally, wrapped about a correspondingly dimensioned stack of cups, and the wrapped blank then severed to form individual sleeves containing individual stacks of nested cups.

While the sleeve 10a has been illustrated in a position presenting the cups bottom-side-up, it will be appreciated that the hereinabove mentioned contemplated holding or mounting means may hold the sleeve in an inverted position as respects the illustrated position so that the cups will be top-side-up. The invention contemplates further that sleeve 10a and its contents may be loaded as a unit in an existing permanent dispenser, in effect affording cartridge-type loading. Alternatively, the cups could be removed from the sleeve and loaded directly into the dispenser. In any event, the sleeve may bear a desired decorative pattern, consistent with, for example, a pattern that might be printed on the cups, which pattern would be visible through walls of the dispenser or through transparent film wrap for the sleeve as marketed for purchase by a user.

While several embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it will be appreciated that it is susceptible of such other modifications as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.