EP1808108A2

EP1808108A2 - A beverage or service container and use thereof

Info

Publication number: EP1808108A2
Application number: EP07388003A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Johannes Jensen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-01-09
Filing date: 2007-01-05
Publication date: 2007-07-18
Also published as: EP1808108A3; DK176563B1; DK200600033A

Abstract

A beverage or service container has two compartments (3, 4) which are separated by a wall (5), where the first chamber (3) is used for a beverage, while the second chamber (4) is used for the storage of an ingredient or a means which is included in the making of the beverage.

A portion of the edge of the container or of the wall at the second chamber is configured with at least one shoulder (6, 7, 24), where the edge of the container has holding means in the form of a recess (8), which extends curve-shaped (11) and is terminated by a wedge (9).

With the invention, e.g. a tea bag may be placed in the second chamber, and its string is locked in the groove so that the tea bag may be removed without it being necessary to grip the tea bag inside the second chamber (4).

Description

The invention relates to a beverage or service container having at least two chambers, where the one chamber contains a beverage, while the other chamber contains an ingredient or a means which is included in the making of the beverage of the beverage or service container.
It is well-known that e.g. tea, which is served to guests at e.g. standing receptions, seminars and the like, is to be brewed in that a person holds a cup of boiling water by the one hand and passes a tea bag and perhaps a slice of lemon down into the cup by the other hand. When the tea has been brewed, the tea bag and the slice of lemon are to be removed, following which sugar is perhaps added to the tea with a spoon. Thus, there are three parts which have to be removed from the brewed tea.
Typically, this is done either by placing the parts in a saucer, which will thereby receive residual liquid from the tea bag, the slice of lemon and the spoon, which means that the underside of the cup binds drops to it, which are released when a person drinks from the cup, whereby the person risks spilling on his/her clothes, which is rather unpleasant if the person is e.g. festively dressed, and the drops are clearly visible.
In other cases, the tea bag and the slice of lemon will be disposed of by placing them in an ashtray, while the spoon is perhaps placed directly on the table from which serving takes place. It goes without saying that it is not very appetizing to use an ashtray for the disposal of tea bags and slices of lemon together with ashes.
All things considered, it is thus a well-known problem that it is difficult to carry out all functions satisfactorily in connection with e.g. the brewing of tea.
Similar problems occur in connection with places where space is limited, e.g. onboard an aircraft, where saucers are not provided on the service tray owing to consideration of space.
A container of the type mentioned initially is known e.g. from WO 03/000098 A1 . The container according to the WO publication is provided with two chambers which are defined by a wall and an upper edge. The one chamber is intended to be filled with a beverage, e.g. tea, while the other chamber is intended to receive support means, such as e.g. a tea bag, a slice of lemon or a tea spoon.
Normally, a tea bag has a string which is used for removing the tea bag after it has released the desired tea extract to the water in the first chamber. When the tea bag has been used, it is placed in the second chamber, and such that the string is brought along down into the chamber. Subsequently, if the tea bag is to be removed, the user must move his/her fingers down into the container and grip the tea, which requires that the second chamber is of a certain size.
US Patent Specification No. 2 334 533 discloses a beverage and service container of the type defined in the introductory portion of claim 1. According to this patent, the two chambers are connected with each other, so that a tea bag or the like may be moved laterally from one chamber to the other, which means that the tea bag may release flavourings if the container is e.g. lifted rearwards, as liquid from the opposite chamber may then get into contact with the tea bag and thereby change the taste of the beverage.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a beverage or service container, where the other chamber is configured in a more user-friendly manner, and to ensure that an ingredient, such as a tea bag or a slice of lemon, cannot transfer flavourings to the chamber which contains the brewed beverage.
The object of the invention is achieved by a beverage or service container of the type defined in the introductory portion of claim 1, which is characterized in that the one chamber and the other chamber are separated by a wall, and that at least one edge element is provided completely or partly along the edge of the other chamber and/or along the wall, with holding means provided in said edge element, and that the edge element and the upper edge of the wall define an opening.
These holding means may be used for holding an ingredient, such as e.g. a slice of lemon or a tea spoon, which may be placed in the other chamber, without this having any annoying effect when drinking from the beverage container or pouring from the service container. Further, an ingredient may be passed from above directly down into the other chamber, so that the ingredient is totally separated from the chamber in which the brewed beverage is present.
An expedient embodiment of the holding means are, as stated in claim 2, that the beverage container has two edge elements, and that the holding means are formed by a recess which is defined by the boundaries of the two edge elements, or, as stated in claim 3, that the recess extends curve-shaped from a corner of each of the edge elements inwards toward the edge of the beverage container.
Particularly in connection with the storage of tea bags in the other chamber, it is advantageous, as stated in claim 4, that the recess in the transition between the edge of the beverage container and the edge element is wedge-shaped and thereby constitutes a clamping device for e.g. the string of a tea bag, as the string of the tea bag may hereby be locked in the wedge-shaped part and be easily removed subsequently from the other chamber without it being necessary to touch the tea bag.
When, as stated in claim 5, the first chamber and the second chamber are separated by a wall whose upper edge is terminated at a distance from one or both of the edge elements so as to provide a discharge groove, it is advantageously ensured that residual liquid which might be present in the second chamber may be discharged through the groove. This avoids the situation that residual liquid is spilt on the face and clothes, which results in discomfort and may require cleaning.
When, as stated in claim 6, the wall has a height which is smaller than the height of the beverage container, it is ensured that the face of a person who drinks the beverage does not contact the wall.
A further expedient embodiment of the beverage or service container is defined in claim 7.
As mentioned, the invention also relates to use. This use is defined in claim 8.
The invention will now be explained more fully with reference to the drawing, in which

fig. 1: shows a beverage container in the form of a cup according to the invention,
fig. 2: shows a service container in the form of a pot according to the invention, while
fig. 3: shows the pot of fig. 2 with an applied lid.

In fig. 1, the numeral 1 designates a beverage container according to the invention in its entirety, which is shown as a drinking cup, e.g. a tea cup, in the figure.
The drinking cup has a handle 2 and is internally provided with a wall 5 in the form of a partition, which separates the beverage or service container into two chambers, which are designated 3 and 4.
The wall 5 may have a height which is smaller than the height of the beverage container, which means that e.g. a tea bag may be transferred from the first chamber to the second chamber without getting beyond the outer diameter of the beverage container. Further, when a user drinks a beverage, it is ensured that the user's face does not contact the wall.
As will moreover be seen, two edge elements 6 and 7, which are separated by a recess 8, are arranged along the upper edge 17 of the beverage container in the area at the second chamber 4. This recess extends from a corner 12 of the one edge element 6 curve-shaped 11 into a wedge 9, which merges into another curve-shaped portion 14 of the handle 2 and continues from there into another wedge 13 and further into a curve-shaped portion 15 of the other edge element and is terminated at a corner 16 of the other edge element 7.
Finally, the numeral 10 designates a groove which is disposed between a corner 18 of the edge 5 and the edge element 7. The groove may e.g. be 1 cm deep and serve as a discharge groove for discharging excess tea from a tea bag in the chamber 4.
It will then be explained how the beverage container is used.
Boling water, e.g., may be filled into the first chamber 3, following which a tea bag and perhaps a slice of lemon are dipped down into the water so that a cup of tea is brewed.
When the tea bag has released its flavourings, it is removed from the water and is passed into the second chamber 4, the string of the tea bag being clamped in one of the wedges 9, 13.
Sugar is optionally added to the tea, which is stirred by a tea spoon, which may be placed in the second chamber and be secured in the recess 8 after use.
Before the beverage or service container is cleaned, the bag is removed from the second chamber 4, as the string of the tea bag is released from one of the wedges 9, 13.
If the tea bag has released liquid in the second chamber, it may be discharged through the groove 10.
The groove 10 and the edge elements 6, 7 moreover have another function, viz. to prevent drops from being conveyed beyond the outer wall 17 with the consequent risk that the person drinking from the beverage container gets drops down over his/her face.
Fig. 2 shows a service container in the form of a tea pot 19. This tea pot has a handle 23 and a pouring spout 25. As will be seen, the tea pot has two chambers, which are designated 20 and 21, respectively. The chambers are separated by a wall 22, which is equipped with a single edge element 24 at the top. The one chamber 20 is intended for the brewing of tea, while the other chamber is intended to receive e.g. tea bags with strings which have been used for the brewing of the tea. The strings may be secured to wedges 26, 27 which are arranged in the transition between the edge element 24 and the upper edge 28 of the tea pot. The edge element 24 is also intended as a stop for residual drops, if any, from the chamber 21 when pouring from the service container.
The tea pot is used in the same manner as a drinking cup in fig. 1. However, it does not have a recess like the recess 8 in the cup of fig. 1, but it may be provided if, e.g., it is desired to place one or more spoons in a position of rest.
Finally, fig. 3 shows the tea pot 19, now with a lid 26 which has a grip 27. As will moreover be seen, the lid 26 does not cover the chamber 21, which may be an advantage if the tea pot is configured as a vacuum jug, it being then possible to remove ingredients, if any, without the lid having to be opened.

Claims

A beverage or service container (1) having at least two chambers (3, 4), where the one chamber (3) contains a beverage, while the other chamber (4) contains an ingredient or an agent which is included in the making of the beverage of the beverage or service container, characterized in that the one chamber and the other chamber are separated by a wall (5), and that at least one edge element (6, 7) is provided completely or partly along the edge (17) of the other chamber (4) and/or along the wall (5), with holding means (9, 13) provided in said edge element, and that the edge element and the upper edge of the wall define an opening.
A beverage or service container according to claim 1, characterized in that the beverage container has two edge elements (6, 7), and that the holding means are formed by a recess (8) which is defined by the boundaries of the two edge elements (6, 7).
A beverage or service container according to claim 2, characterized in that the recess (8) extends curve-shaped (11, 15) from a corner (12, 16) of each of the edge elements (6, 7) inwards toward the edge (14) of the beverage container.
A beverage or service container according to claims 2 - 3, characterized in that the recess in the transition between the edge of the beverage container and the edge element (6, 7) is wedge-shaped (9, 13).
A beverage or service container according to claims 1 - 4, characterized in that the first chamber (3) and the second chamber (4) are separated by a wall (5) whose upper edge is terminated at a distance from one or both of the edge elements so as to provide a discharge groove (10).
A beverage or service container according to claim 5, characterized in that the wall (5) has a height which is smaller than the height of the beverage container.
A beverage or service container according to claims 1-6, characterized in that the beverage or service container is covered by a lid (19), which has a surface covering only the first chamber (3).
Use of a beverage or service container according to claims 1 - 7 as part of a set which consists of a tea pot and a tea cup.