Beverage container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12351382-B2
Application number	US-202117563254-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2021
Priority date	Dec 28, 2020
Publication date	Jul 8, 2025
Grant date	Jul 8, 2025

Abstract

An insulative beverage container includes an outer cup and an inner gap support. The outer cup includes a cup brim, a cup floor, and a cup body. The inner gap support is configured to fit within an interior space of the outer cup and includes a gap-support brim, a gap-support floor, and gap-support body.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An insulative container comprising
an outer cup including a cup brim, a cup floor, and a cup body that extends and interconnects the cup brim and the cup floor to locate the cup body between the cup floor and the cup brim, the cup body including at least one annular reinforcement rib, and
an inner gap support configured to fit within an interior space of the outer cup, the inner gap support including a gap-support brim, a gap-support floor, and gap-support body that extends between and interconnects the gap-support brim and the gap-support floor to locate the gap-support body between the gap-support floor and the gap-support brim,
wherein the inner gap-support is spaced apart from the outer cup to provide an insulative air-gap therebetween and the gap-support body includes a spacer section between the gap-support brim and the gap support floor and including a plurality of projections that provide outwardly-projecting peaks to maintain the insulative air-gap, a retainer section coupled to a lower end of the spacer section and including a plurality of retainer tabs configured to engage with the at least one reinforcement rib of the cup body to retain the inner gap support to the outer cup, and a stacking section coupled to the retainer section so that: (i) the insulative container may be stacked with similar containers and (ii) the inner gap support may be stacked with similar inner gap supports separately from the outer cup, the stacking section including a plurality of stacking tabs offset circumferentially about a central axis of the inner gap support from one another and from each of the retainer tabs and arranged to extend radially inward toward the central axis,
wherein the stacking section is spaced apart from the gap-support floor and is located above the gap-support floor,
wherein the annular reinforcement rib has an innermost diameter and the retainer tabs have an outermost diameter greater than the innermost diameter of the annular reinforcement rib, and
wherein each retainer tab includes a pusher ramp forming a lower portion of each retainer tab, a retainer forming an upper portion of each retainer tab, and a peak formed at a junction between the pusher ramp and the retainer to provide the outermost diameter, and wherein the pusher ramp of each retainer tab is configured to engage the annular reinforcement rib during insertion of the inner gap support into the interior space of the outer cup to cause the outer cup to change from an un-deformed state to a deformed state as the pusher ramp rides along the annular reinforcement rib during insertion of the inner gap support into the interior space of the outer cup, and the outer cup is configured to return to the un-deformed state once the peak clears the annular reinforcement rib and the retainer resides below the annular reinforcement rib.

2. The insulative container of claim 1 , wherein each of the projections is an annular spacer rib that extends circumferentially around the central axis of the inner gap support.

3. The insulative container of claim 2 , wherein each spacer rib extends includes a negatively-sloping upper segment and a positively-sloping lower segment relative to the central axis such that each negatively-sloping upper segment extends away from the central axis from an upper end to a lower end of each negatively-sloping upper segment and each positively-sloping lower segment extends toward the central axis from an upper end to a lower end of each positively-sloping lower segment.

4. The insulative container of claim 3 , wherein an air-gap depression is defined between two neighboring peaks to provide an annular air-gap pocket therebetween.

5. The insulative container of claim 3 , wherein each negatively-sloping upper segment has a first height relative to the central axis that is greater than a second height of each positively-sloping lower segment.

6. The insulative container of claim 1 , wherein each retainer tab extends only partway around the central axis of the inner gap support, and wherein the retainer is configured to engage the reinforcement rib to block removal of the inner gap support from the outer cup.

7. The insulative container of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of retainer tabs provide a gap-support stacking shoulder and tabs provide a container stacking shoulder.

8. The insulative container of claim 1 , wherein the cup brim has a first outermost diameter and the gap-support brim has a second outermost diameter less than the first outermost diameter.

9. An insulative beverage container comprising an outer cup including a cup brim, a cup floor, and a cup body that extends and interconnects the cup brim and the cup floor to locate the cup body between the cup floor and the cup brim, the cup body including at least one annular reinforcement rib, and
an inner gap support configured to fit within an interior space of the outer cup, the inner gap support including a gap-support brim, a gap-support floor, and gap-support body that extends between and interconnects the gap-support brim and the gap-support floor to locate the gap-support body between the gap-support floor and the gap-support brim,
wherein the inner gap-support is spaced apart from the outer cup to provide an insulative air-gap therebetween and the gap-support body includes at least one retainer tab configured to engage with the at least one reinforcement rib of the cup body to retain the inner gap support to the outer cup, a plurality of horizontal projections stacked vertically between the inner-liner brim and the at least one retainer tab, and at least one stacking tab offset circumferentially about a central axis of the inner gap support from the at least one retainer tab and arranged to extend radially inward toward the central axis,
wherein the outer cup is configured to change from a un-deformed state, in which each of the horizontal projections is spaced apart from the outer cup, and a deformed state in response to an inward force on the outer cup, in which the outer cup engages at least one of the horizontal projections, and
wherein the at least one annular reinforcement rib has an innermost diameter and the at least one retainer tab has an outermost diameter greater than the innermost diameter of the at least one annular reinforcement rib, and wherein the outer cup is configured to deform relative to the inner gap support in response to the at least one retainer tab engaging the at least one annular reinforcement rib as the inner gap support is inserted into the interior space of the outer cup.

10. The insulative beverage container of claim 9 , wherein each of the projections is an annular spacer rib that extends circumferentially around the central axis of the inner gap support, and wherein each spacer rib extends includes a negatively-sloping upper segment and a positively-sloping lower segment relative to the central axis such that each negatively-sloping upper segment extends away from the central axis from an upper end to a lower end of each negatively-sloping upper segment and each positively-sloping lower segment extends toward the central axis from an upper end to a lower end of each positively-sloping lower segment.

11. The insulative beverage container of claim 10 , wherein each negatively-sloping upper segment has a first height relative to the central axis that is greater than a second height of each positively-sloping lower segment, and wherein each negatively-sloping upper segment has a steeper absolute slope than at least a portion of each positively-sloping lower segment.

Assignees

• Berry Global Inc

Inventors

• Bragg Braxton J
• Eickhoff Jonathan
• Mann Jeffrey A

Classifications

• B65D21/0233

  Nestable containers · CPC title

• B65D1/265

  Drinking cups (B65D81/3865 takes precedence, holders for plastic cups A47G23/0208) · CPC title

• B65D81/3869 Primary

  formed with double walls, i.e. hollow · CPC title