GB2473027A

GB2473027A - Drinks receptacle with deployable handle

Info

Publication number: GB2473027A
Application number: GB0914980A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Blake
Original assignee: Spearmark International Ltd
Current assignee: Spearmark International Ltd
Priority date: 2009-08-27
Filing date: 2009-08-27
Publication date: 2011-03-02
Anticipated expiration: 2029-08-27
Also published as: GB0914980D0; GB2473027B

Abstract

A drink receptacle 1 comprises a body 2 and a handle 3; the body2 comprising a wall 10 and a base and defining a volume for receiving in use a liquid; the handle 3 being rotatable between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration, the receptacle 1 further comprising a biasing mechanism for biasing the handle 3 towards the deployed configuration. The handle 3 may be formed by two counter-rotating sections 20. The sections 20 may be retained in their none-deployed position by a latch and released by an actuator button.

Description

A RECEPTACLE

The present invention relates to a receptacle having a handle which is designed to be movable between stowed and deployed configurations. In particular, it relates to drink receptacles.

Drink receptacles are well known and much effort has been expended on designing drink receptacles which are ergonomic and easy to use. For certain applications, for example travel mugs etc., it is desirable to produce a drink receptacle which is relatively compact in size. However, often compact drinks receptacles are awkward to use as they typically are provided with small, unergonomic handles. In other fields, for example drinks receptacles for children, it is desirable to provide drinks receptacles which are fun and visually engaging and allow modification of their appearance by applying pictures and text to the body of the receptacle. Other receptacles, such as children's lunchboxes can suffer from similar problems.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel type of receptacle which can adopt a relatively compact configuration for storage and yet has a deployable handle which allows for ergonomic use.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a receptacle comprising a body and a handle; the body comprising a wall and a base and defining a volume for receiving in use a liquid or foodstuff; the handle being rotatable between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration, the receptacle further comprising a biasing mechanism for biasing the handle towards the deployed configuration.

Advantageously, the deployable handle which can rotate into the deployed configuration produces a handle which readily and comfortably fits the hand of the user and therefore avoids some of the ergonomic drawbacks of prior designs of compact receptacles. In addition, the act of deploying the handle from stowed configuration to deployed configuration is visually and tactily appealing, particularly for children. The biasing mechanism allows for semi-automatic deployment of the handle. For example, the biasing mechanism may comprise a rotational spring.

Preferably, the receptacle further comprises a damping mechanism for damping motion induced by the biasing mechanism. For example, the damping mechanism may comprise a rotational sprung damper. Advantageously, use of a damping mechanism produces a safe and aesthetically pleasing means for deploying the handle. Preferably, the receptacle further comprises a catch mechanism for retaining the handle in the stowed configuration.

Preferably, the receptacle further comprises an actuator button for triggering the catch mechanism to cause the handle to move from the stowed configuration to the deployed configuration.

Preferably, the catch mechanism comprises a sprung latch member which is biased into engagement in use with a detent on the handle to retain the handle in the stowed configuration.

Preferably, operation of the actuator button disengages the latch member from the detent.

Preferably, the handle comprises two handle elements.

Preferably, the handle elements rotate in opposite senses to one another when moving between the stowed configuration and the deployed configuration.

The wall may comprise a recess and wherein, in the stowed configuration, the handle is at least partially located within said recess.

Advantageously, the ability of the receptacle to adopt a stowed configuration wherein the handle is at least partially located in the recess produces a more compact arrangement of the receptacle for travel or transport or storage.

In the stowed configuration the handle may lie flush with a surface of the wall.

Preferably the handle rotates between stowed and deployed configurations about an axis that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body.

The wall may be an annular wall.

The receptacle may be a drink receptacle. The invention finds particular application to drinks receptacles such as cups, tumblers and mugs. In particular, the ability to transform a mug (with a handle) into a tumbler (without a projecting handle) is useful for young children who are first learning to hold a receptacle with a handle. For instance, when first using the receptacle, a child may hold the receptacle as a tumbler with the handle stowed. As they grow more confident they can deploy the handles and use the receptacle as a mug. Thus the receptacle can serve as a training aid for children.

Alternatively, the receptacle may be a lunch box.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a receptacle according to the present invention with the handle of the receptacle in a stowed configuration; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the receptacle of Figure 1 with the handle in a deployed configuration; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the receptacle of Figure 1 with the handle in the stowed configuration and with a cover plate detached to illustrate the internal Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the handle mechanism of the receptacle of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cover plate of Figure 4; Figure 6a is an exploded perspective view of a handle element and a sprung damper of the receptacle of Figure 1; and Figure 6b is a perspective view of the handle element and sprung damper of Figure 6a in an assembled configuration.

As shown in Figure 1, the receptacle 1 of the present invention is embodied as a drink receptacle and comprises a generally cylindrical body 2 having a handle 3.

The body 2 is formed from a generally cylindrical annular wall 10 and a closed base 11. The opposite end is formed as an open mouthed top 12. The open top 12 of the body 2 terminates in a circular rim 13. The body 2 defines a volume into which a liquid such as a drink may be poured and contained therein.

The annular wall 10 is molded with a recess 14 for receiving the handle 3. The recess 14 extends round a portion of the circumference of the wall 10 and from near the base 11 to a point approximately three quarters of the way to the upper rim 13. When the receptacle 1 is full of liquid the recess 14 is not readily apparent as the upper rim 13 is circular. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the handle 3 comprises two handle elements 20, each of which has a generally C-shaped form with an upper end 21 and a lower end 22.

As shown in Figure 3, each handle element 20 is rotatably mounted to the body 2 at its upper end 21 and lower end 22.

The body 2 further comprises a cover plate 15 which is affixed to the remainder of the body 2 to hide from view and retain the internal workings of the handle mechanism. As shown in Figure 3, (with the cover plate 15 shown detached) it can be seen that the moulded body 2 is provided with a curved flange member 32 which defines a pair of upper bearings 33 and a pair of lower bearings 34 in the form of semicircular apertures in the flange member 32. As can be seen in Figures 3, 6a and 6b, the upper end 21 of each handle element 20 is provided with an upper journal 23 which is engagably mountable in the upper bearing 33 of the flange member 32. Likewise, the lower end 22 of each handle element 20 is provided with a lower journal 24 which is mountably engagable in the lower bearing 34 of the flange member 32. As shown in Figure 5, the cover plate 15 is provided with a matching flange 52 with semicircular apertures 53, 54 which mate with the upper bearings 33 and lower bearings 34 of the flange member 32 on mounting of the cover plate 15 to the remainder of the body 2 to securably but rotatably mount the handle element 20 to the body 2.

The cover plate 15 is affixed to the body 2 by a suitable means such as ultrasonic welding or adhesive.

The body 2 is further provided with a damper support 30 in the form of a walled structure which upstands from the remainder of the body 2 and has formed therein a pair of upper apertures 35 and a pair of lower notches 36. As shown in Figure 3, a pair of sprung dampers 37 are mounted to the damper support 30.

As shown in Figure 6a, each sprung damper 37 comprises a lower end housing 38, an upper component 39 that is formed integrally with (or otherwise fixed to) the handle element 20 and a spring 55. When assembled together the spring is enclosed by the upper component 39 and lower end housing 38 which define a chamber containing the spring 55 that is filled with a damping fluid such as Vaseline (RTM) or viscous oil. The lower end housing 38 of each damper 37 is provided with a key feature 38a that provides an internal notch for receiving a lower end of the spring 55 and rotatably fixing the spring relative to the lower end housing. Likewise, the upper component 39 is provided with a notch 39a for receiving the upper end of the spring 55.

The lower end housing 38 of the sprung damper 37 is engaged in the lower notch 36 by means of the key feature 38a and the upper component 39 of the sprung damper 37 is supported in, but rotatable within, the upper aperture 35 of the damper support 30. Since, the upper component 39 of the sprung damper 37 is integral with the upper journal 23 of each handle element 20 rotation of the handle element 20 causes rotation of the upper component 39 of the sprung damper 37 relative to the lower end housing 38. The sprung dampers 37 are mounted such that they bias the handle elements 20 towards the deployed configuration. Thus, in the stowed configuration the springs 55 of the dampers 37 are partly strained by the relative rotation of their upper ends relative to their lower ends (engaged with key feature 38a) As most clearly seen in Figure 4, the lower journal 24 of each handle element 20 is provided with a detent 27 upstanding from an end face 26 of the lower journal 24. The detent 27 is provided with two sloped faces 28 and 29.

The receptacle 1 is provided with a catch mechanism 40 for controlling movement of the handle 3 between stowed and deployed configurations and vice versa. The catch mechanism comprises a latch member 43 which comprises a moulded plate-like member having a pair of upper spring arms 45 at an upper end thereof, a pair of latch detents 49 at a lower end thereof, and a central spine member 51. The two peripheral edges of the latch member 43 are provided with latch edge members 44. The central spine member 51 comprises a sloped face (hidden from view in Figure 3) the use of which will be described below.

The body 2 is provided with an actuator button guide 42 in the form of a pair of upstanding curved wall members. In addition, the body 2 is provided with two upstanding upper latch guide tabs 46 in the form of wall structures as shown in Figure 3.

The latch member 43 is engagably mounted to the body 2 with the latch edge members 44 slidingly guided by the upper latch guide tabs 46. At the same time, the upper spring arms 45 bear against an under side of a lower wall of the spring damper support 30. The central spine section 51 of the latch member 43 extends downwardly between the two curved walls of the actuator button guide 42 with the sloped face of the central spine member being located in line with the actuator button. The lower end of the latch member 43 is provided with a pair of flanges 48 which terminate in the latch detent 49 as shown in Figure 4. The body 2 is provided with a pair of lower latch guide tabs upstanding from the remainder of the body 2. On mounting of the latch member 43 with the body 2 the flanges 48 are slidably guided by bearing against the lower latch guide tabs 47.

The latch detent 49 comprises two sloping faces.

When mounted to the body 2, the latch member 43 is biased downwardly towards the base 11 of the receptacle 1 by the upper spring arms 45.

An actuator button 41 is provided slidably engagable in the actuator button guide 42 with a rear face of the button resting on the sloped face of the central spine member 51.

The actuator button 41 is provided with upper and lower projections which are slidably engagable in the channels between the curved walls of the actuator button guide 42 such that the actuator button 41 is able to move radially inwardly and outwardly but is prevented from rotating.

Use of the drink receptacle 1 will now be described starting from the position shown in Figures 1 and 3 in which the handle 3 is in the stowed configuration. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, in the stowed configuration, the handle elements 20 are received within the recess 14 of the body 2 such that the handle 3 lies flush with the external surface of the annular wall 10. By the term "flush" is meant that the surface of the handle elements 20 does not lie proud of the surface of the annular wall 10. Advantageously this provides an aesthetically pleasing look to the drink receptacle 1 and a smooth surface which allows the drink receptacle 1 to be used as a tumbler without the handle 3 being deployed if a user so wishes. In the stowed configuration, the handle elements 20 are retained within the recess 14 by the mutual engagement of the pair of latch detents 49 of the latch member 43 with the detents 27 of the handle elements 20. As shown in Figure 4, the relative angling of the sloped face 29 of the detent 27 and the corresponding sloped face on the latch detent 49 prevents the lower journal 24 (and hence the handle element 20) rotating past the latch detent 49.

To deploy the handle 3, a user depresses the actuator button 41. This causes the actuator button 41 to move radially inwardly. The inward movement of the button 41 forces the latch member 43 to move upwards due to the engagement of the rear of the button 41 with the sloped face of the central spine member. This upward movement is against the bias of the upper spring arms 45. The upward movement of the latch member 43 is guided by the tabs 46 and 47. The upward movement causes the latch detents 49 of the latch member 43 to disengage from the detents 27 of the handle elements.

As soon as the latch detents 49 disengage from the detents 27 of the handle elements 20, the handle elements are rotated by action of the sprung dampers 37 which bias the handle elements 20 towards their deployed configuration.

As a consequence, the handle elements 20 rotate outwardly to the extended, deployed configuration. The rotational movement of the handle elements 20 is a smooth movement due to the damped action of the sprung dampers 37.

Release of the actuator button 41 causes the actuator button 41 to move back to its unactuated position due to the biasing effect of the sloped face of the central spine member 51 on the rear of the actuator button 41, since the latch member 43 itself is biased downwards by the upper spring arms 45.

When a user wishes to close the handle 3, they manually rotate the handle elements 20 back towards the recess 14.

-10 -This movement is against the bias of the springs 55 of the sprung dampers 37. As the handle elements 20 reach the nearly fully closed position, the detents 27 contact the latch detents 49. However, due to the mutual angles of the sloped faces of the detent 27 and latch detent 49, the movement of the detent 27 is able to push the latch member 43 upwardly against the bias of the upper spring arms 45 to displace the latch member 43 sufficiently to allow the detents 27 to pass underneath the latch detents 49. As soon as the peak of the detents 27 have passed the peak of the latch detent 49, the latch member 43 is moved back into its lower position by recovery of the strain of the upper spring arms 45. Hence, the receptacle 1 returns to the starting configuration described above wherein the handle 3 is stowed.

The receptacle 1 may be produced from a wide range of materials but is preferably formed substantially from engineering plastics. Advantageously, the body 2, handle elements 20, latch member 43 and actuator button 41 can all be formed from moulded articles of engineering plastic such as styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), polypropylene (PP) or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) In the above embodiment the invention has been illustrated, by way of example as a drinks receptacle.

However, the receptacle of the present invention may also be configured to hold other liquids or foodstuffs. For example the receptacle may be a lunchbox, in particular a lunchbox having a rigid housing having a wall and a base defining a volume for containing foodstuffs. For example, the wall and base may define a box-type structure with a pivotable lid rotatable attached thereto. The deployable handle can be -11 -provided on the lid or the box-type structure or a combination of both.

The shape of the body 2 can take any suitable form and is illustrated herein as a generally cylindrical body when the receptacle is in the form of a drinks receptacle purely for means of illustration.

The receptacle 1 may be provided with only a single handle element 20 operated by a suitable mechanism as described above. Alternatively, where two handle elements 20 are provided these may be provided with catch mechanisms which deploy the handle elements independently of one another.

Whilst in the illustrated embodiment, the rotational biasing of the handle elements 20 is provided with sprung dampers 37, other biasing means with or without damping may be utilised. For example, a rotational spring may be provided without any internal damping mechanism for biasing each handle element 20.

Claims

-12 -Claims: 1. A receptacle comprising a body and a handle; the body comprising a wall and a base and defining a volume for receiving in use a liquid or foodstuff; the handle being rotatable between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration, the receptacle further comprising a biasing mechanism for biasing the handle towards the deployed configuration.
2. A receptacle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the biasing mechanism comprises a rotational spring.
3. A receptacle as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 further comprising a damping mechanism for damping motion induced by the biasing mechanism.
4. A receptacle as claimed in claim 3 wherein the damping mechanism comprises a rotational sprung damper.
5. A receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising a catch mechanism for retaining the handle in the stowed configuration.
6. A receptacle as claimed in claim 5 further comprising an actuator button for triggering the catch mechanism to cause the handle to move from the stowed configuration to the deployed configuration.
7. A receptacle as claimed in claim 6 wherein the catch mechanism comprises a sprung latch member which is biased -13 -into engagement in use with a detent on the handle to retain the handle in the stowed configuration.
8. A receptacle as claimed in claim 7 wherein operation of the actuator button disengages the latch member from the detent.
9. A receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the handle comprises two handle elements.
10. A receptacle as claimed in claim 9 wherein the handle elements rotate in opposite senses to one another when moving between the stowed configuration and the deployed configuration.
11. A receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the wall comprises a recess and wherein, in the stowed configuration, the handle is at least partially located within said recess.
12. A receptacle as claimed in claim 11 wherein in the stowed configuration the handle lies flush with a surface of the wall.
13. A receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the handle rotates between stowed and deployed configurations about an axis that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body.
14. A receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the wall is an annular wall.

-14 -
15. A receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim which is a drink receptacle.
16. A receptacle as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14 which is a lunch box.
17. A receptacle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows:-Claims: 1. A drink receptacle comprising a body and a handle; the body comprising a wall and a base and defining a volume for receiving in use a liquid; the handle being rotatable between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration, the receptacle further comprising a biasing mechanism for biasing the handle towards the deployed configuration.2. A drink receptacle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the biasing mechanism comprises a rotational spring.3. A drink receptacle as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 further comprising a damping mechanism for damping motion induced by the biasing mechanism. *.S * * * S. S S... 4. A drink receptacle as claimed in claim 3 wherein the damping mechanism comprises a rotational sprung damper.*5SS * * 5. A drink receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim : further comprising a catch mechanism for retaining the S*$ handle in the stowed configuration.6. A drink receptacle as claimed in claim 5 further comprising an actuator button for triggering the catch mechanism to cause the handle to move from the stowed configuration to the deployed configuration.7. A drink receptacle as claimed in claim 6 wherein the catch mechanism comprises a sprung latch member which is biased into engagement in use with a detent on the handle to retain the handle in the stowed configuration.8. A drink receptacle as claimed in claim 7 wherein operation of the actuator button disengages the latch member from the detent.9. A drink receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the handle comprises two handle elements.10. A drink receptacle as claimed in claim 9 wherein the handle elements rotate in opposite senses to one another when moving between the stowed configuration and the deployed configuration.11. A drink receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the wall comprises a recess and wherein, in the S...stowed configuration, the handle is at least partially located within said recess. 512. A drink receptacle as claimed in claim 11 wherein in * the stowed configuration the handle lies flush with a : *** surface of the wall. *5 *S* *25 13. A drink receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the handle rotates between stowed and deployed configurations about an axis that is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the body.14. A drink receptacle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the wall is an annular wall.15. A drink receptacle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings. *St* * * S S. S S... * S SI,S *S * * * S * I.S*.* 5.5 * S * 5, *S SS * S