US3151798A - Handle for nestable cups - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 6, 1964 F. L. MEAGHER 3,151,798

HANDLE FOR NESTABLE CUPS Filed July 25, 1965 United States Patent f 3,151,798 HANDLE FOR NESTABLE CUPS Frederick Lawrence Meagher, Blairstown, N.J., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 23, 1963, Ser. No. 296,990 6 Claims. (Cl. 229-) This invention relates to a cup handle, and more particularly to a substantially rigid handle for disposable drinking cups that is both adhesively and mechanically secured to the cup.

Since the beginning of the paper cup industry, there has been substantially only one handle available on hot drink paper cups at the consumer level. This handle has been the conventional adhesively bonded paper one, which generally lies flush with the cup body wall and is extended for gripping when the filled cup is lifted.

One of the principal reasons for using this paper handle and not a rigid one is the low cost necessary for a single use disposable container. Another, and probably equal problem, has been the necessity for the cups to be nestable in order to minimize the space occupied during storage, shipment and use.

The shape of a cup handle is traditionally recognizable all over the world, and all peoples realize at a glance how to grip or grasp it. However, this is not necessarily true of the foldable flush type paper handle. It has been found that many people do not recognize how to open up a paper handle, while others do not care to be bothered, and others consider a paper handle more useful closed as an insulation against the hot beverage in the cup.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a low cost easily manufactured handle for disposable cups.

It is another object of this invention to provide a handle for a paper cup which is stronger than the conventional paper handle presently used on disposable cups.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a handle for disposable paper cups that is not susceptible to weakening in the presence of moisture.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a handle for disposable cups that permits the cups to be nested within one another to minimize the space necessary for shipping and storage, including storage within an automatic vending machine.

A further object of this invention is to provide a handle for disposable paper cups that will allow the user to grip the handle without exposing his fingers to the cup wall and any hot potable liquid contained therein.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a handle for disposable cups having low heat conductivity.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

The above objects are accomplished by providing a handle for attachment to a disposable cup, whose brim is formed with an outwardly rolled bead. The handle has a substantially rigid pad adapted to lie along and be adhered to the outer surface of the cup body. The upper end of the pad terminates in an upwardly extending hook which is adapted to fit between the upper end of the body and the inner portion of the rolled bead. Below the hook is a bridge, joining the pad to the upper end of a hand-gripping extension which projects laterally from the pad and downwardly from the bridge. The handgripping extension is adapted to be grasped, without the hand coming into contact with the cup While holding the handle.

3,151,798 Patented Oct. 6, 1964 Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the handle, partly in section, showing the relationship of the handle to the disposable cup;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the handle;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view of a plurality of nested cups having handles attached thereto; and

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of a modified form of the invention illustrating a downwardly depending element for increasing the stability of the handle when lifting a filled cup.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the instant invention, FIG. 1 shows a handle, generally designated 10, having a handle pad 12 terminating at its upper end in an upwardly extending hook 14, the pad 12 and hook 14 being secured to a cup 15.

An outer surface 16 of the handle pad 12, as shown in FIG. 2, is concave in shape and conforms to an outer surface 17 of a cup body wall 18. The pad surface 16 is adhesively secured to the cup body wall 18 by means of a suitable adhesive. It is preferred that this adhesive will not be weakened by heat, such as will be present when the cup 15 is filled with a hot liquid. Resistance to weakening by the action of moisture is also desirable since, on occasion, the exterior of the cup will be wet.

Among the adhesives that may be used for securing the handle pad 12 to the cup body wall 18 are cured epoxy resins such as an epoxy-vinyl acetate copolymer, casein latex, and polyesters. Any adhesive that will secure the material from which the handle 10 is made to the paper of the cup 15 will be adequate. It is generally preferred that the handle 10 be made of an inexpensive plastic such as polystyrene, or a foamed plastic, although it may be made of any number of materials that will provide adequate strength for the purpose, without being prohibitive in cost.

The upwardly extending, and slightly curved hook 14 fits between an upper end 19 of the body 18 and an inner portion 20 of a rolled peripheral head 22 which forms the brim of the cup 15. If desired, an adhesive may be employed to secure the hook 14 in position, although this may not be necessary, due to the mechanical gripping action of the resilient head 22 and the upper end 19 of the body 18 upon the hook 14.

Slightly below the hook 14 and projecting laterally is a bridge 26, having an arcuate underportion 27, joining the pad 12 with an upper end 28 of a laterally and downwardly projecting hand-gripping extension 29. Within the hand-gripping extension 29 is an aperture 30 for receiving a finger, preferably circular or oval in shape.

It is apparent that the aperture 30 may be enlarged to accommodate two or more fingers for ease in holding the filled cup 15. In addition it may be desirable, in certain cases, to omit the aperture 30. In such instances, the then solid extension 29 would be grasped between the thumb and forefinger when holding the cup.

Except for the upper end 28 of the extension 29, which is joined to the pad 12 by the bridge 26, the extension is spaced from the pad 12. This spacing 36 serves a number of functions which will be described hereinafter.

FIG. 3 illustrates a prime use for which the space 36 may be utilized, e.g. nesting of a plurality of cups 15 having handles 16 secured thereto. As each cup 15 is nested within another, the rolled head 22 slides into the space 36 until it abuts the arcuate underportion 27 of the bridge 26. In this way a minimum amount of space may be taken up for shipping and storing the cups 15, the only spacing between cups 15, more than'in the usual disposable cup, being the Vertical thickness of the bridge 26.

It is obvious that the further the extension 29 lies from the cup 15 the greater will be insulation protecting the fingers holding the handle 10 from any hot liquid con- 3 tained within the cup 15. The cup 15 will thus be much more easily'and comfortably held by the consumer.

In addition, when a single finger is used to hold the handle 10, it is quite common to place the next finger forward, toward the ,cup 15, to provide additional balance when lifting the cup 15. Thus the spacing 36 between the pad 12 and the extension 29 will also partially accommodate this finger for balancing the filled cup 15, while still providing the lower part of thepad 12 for insulation of the finger from the cup Wall 18. 7

Another factor that makes the handle it) more useful when the cups 15 are nested, is that the handle may beemployed to separate each individual cup from the stackmore easily. This easy separation is further enhanced due to the spacing between adjacent cups resulting from the bridge 26 and the pad 12, which prevent excessive frictional engagement between the contacting walls 1 8 of adjacent cups 15.

When a filled cup 15 is lifted it is apparent that various forces act upon the handle 10 and the cup 15, with various points of principal stress. As the cup 15 is lifted, the stresses are primarily concentrated at the bridge 26 and upon the inner. portion of the bead 22, the latter being exerted by the hook 14. There is also some stress being applied to the wall 180f the cup 15 by the lower area of the pad 12 which is in contact with the surface 17 of the wall 18.

However, when the cup 15 is tipped as it is brought up to the human lips, using the line of the upper end 28 of the extension 29 as the axis, the directions of the forces change as a torque-like action is brought into play. There is then a tendency for the pad 12 to slide along the surface 17 and for the hook 14 to slide out and be disengaged from, its fit between the upper end 19 of the body 18 and the inner portion 20 of the rolled bead 22.

'It is at. this point that the adhesive securing the pad 12 to the surface 1 7 comes into play. Unless the bond is firm, thepad 12 will slide and the hook 14 will'disengage from its position between the body end '19 and the inner portion 20 of the rolled bead 22, resulting in separation of the handle 1!) from the cup'15.

In a modified form of the invention, as shown in FIG. 4, an arm 38, integral with a lower segment. of the hand-gripping'extension 29 projects downwardly and inwardly toward the handle pad 12. However, the arm 38 is spaced from the pad'12. Also, the arm 38 has a springlike action.

This arm 38 serves a number of functions which further facilitate the use of the handle 10. First, the arm 38 acts as an additional stabilizing fo'rce'for the stresses placed upon the, areas where the handle 10 and the cup 15 are secured when the filled cup 15 is raised. As the filled cup 15 is lifted, an area '42 on the resilient arm 38: is forced against the lower part of the handle pad 12, thus balancing some of the force exerted by thehook 14 upon the bead22 and relieving some of the stress placed upon the bridge 26 Furthermore, the arm '38 serves as a rest for one or more of the holders fingers that do not engage the extension 29. This tends to'fu'rther assist in balancing the filled cup 15 and removing the holders hand further away from the hotliquid contents of the cup.

The arrn 38"does not interfere with the nesting feature of the handled cupssince there is a spring-like resilient action in the arm '38,'which increases the already present spacingfbetwee'n the area 42 and the pad 12, when a rolled bead'22 at the top of a cup 15 is pushed through the space 36 for nesting the cups 15. Also, the curve 44 in the arm assists in providing a smooth movement when nesting a plurality of cups, and minimizes the chance of snagging a cup bead 22 with the arm 38.

In certain instances Where it may be desirable to minimize the amount of material needed in the handle 10,

4 sections of the hand-gripping extension 29 and arm 38 may be hollowed out, from the outside in, to form a somewhat I-beam cross-section, without materially reducing the strength of the section. A prime area for this would be the top 28 of the extension 29, which does not carry any appreciable load during lifting or drinking.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim: I V

1. A handle for attachment to the body of a disposable cup, the open end of which bodyis rolled outwardly to form a peripheral bead, comprising: a

a substantially rigid handle pad'whose outer surface is adapted to lie along and be adhered to the outer surface of the cup body; the upper end of said pad terminating in an upwardly extending curved hook adapted to fit between the upper end of said body and the inner portion of said bead; a I

a bridge joining said pad with the upper end of a hand gripping extension; I

said bridge having a shaped underportion adapted to receive the bead of a second cup when aplurality'of cups are nested in a stack; and

said hand-gripping extension projecting laterally from said pad and depending from said bridge, and being spaced from said pad below said bridge and adapted to be grasped for holding said cup.

2. The handle of claim 1 wherein said handle pad outer surface is slightly concave so as to conform to a curved cup body.

3. The handle of claim 1 wherein said hand-gripping extension has an aperture therein adapted for receiving a finger.

4. The handle of claim l wherein an arm, integral with a lower segment of said hand-gripping extension, extends d'ownwardly and inwardly toward said pad, and is spaced from said pad so that a plurality of handled cups may be nestably stacked.

5. The handle of claim 4 wherein said arm terminates in a curvesuch that the terminus of said arm is spaced further from said pad than the closest point of said arm.

6. In combination:

a disposable cup having a tubular body with an outwardly rolled bead at its open end and a substantially rigid handle secured to said cup;

said handle comprising a substantially rigid handle pad having a slightly concave outer surface and terminating at its upper end in an upwardly extending hook;

said outer surface being adhered to the outer surface of said tubular body and said hook fitting tightly between the upper end of said body and the inner portion of said bead;

abridge joining said pad slightly below said hook, with the upper end of ,a hand-gripping extension;

said bridge having an arcuate underportion adapted to receive the bead of a second'cup when a plurality of cups is nested in a stack; and

said hand-gripping extension projecting laterally from said pad and depending from said bridge, while said extension is spaced from said pad below said bridge and is adapted to be grasped for holding said cup.

Koons Feb. 4, 1936 Kayat Dec. 25, 1956

Claims (1)

1. 6. IN COMBINATION: A DISPOSABLE CUP HAVING A TUBULAR BODY WITH AN OUTWARDLY ROLLED BEAD AT ITS OPEN END AND A SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID HANDLE SECURED TO SAID CUP; SAID HANDLE COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID HANDLE PAD HAVING A SLIGHTLY CONCAVE OUTER SURFACE AND TERMINATING AT ITS UPPER END IN AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING HOOK; SAID OUTER SURFACE BEING ADHERED TO THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID TUBULAR BODY AND SAID HOOK FITTING TIGHLY BETWEEN THE UPPER END OF SAID BODY AND THE INNER PORTION OF SAID BEAD;

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