Brim of an insulated container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9688456-B2
Application number	US-201314106358-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2013
Priority date	Dec 14, 2012
Publication date	Jun 27, 2017
Grant date	Jun 27, 2017

Abstract

A container is formed to include an interior region and a brim defining a mouth opening into the interior region. The container includes a floor and a side wall coupled to the floor and to the brim.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cup comprising
a body made of an insulative cellular non-aromatic polymeric material and formed to include an interior region providing a fluid-holding reservoir and
a rolled brim made of the insulative cellular non-aromatic polymeric material and formed to include an interior chamber, the rolled brim being coupled to the body to frame an opening into the interior region and to extend around the body to cause the interior chamber of the rolled brim to lie outside of the interior region of the cup,
wherein the rolled brim includes a curved brim lip having a first end and an opposite second end arranged to lie in spaced-apart confronting relation to the first end and a curved brim seam arranged to interconnect the first end and the opposite second end of the curved brim lip,
wherein the curved brim seam includes an inner rolled tab coupled to the first end of the curved brim lip and an outer rolled tab coupled to the second end of the curved brim lip and arranged to overlie and mate with an outwardly facing surface of the inner rolled tab,
wherein the rolled brim has a rolled-brim efficiency in a range of about 1.0 to about 1.40 to provide a substantially endless and even outer surface of the rolled brim along the entire circumference of the rolled brim with little, if any, step formed in the rolled brim at a junction formed between the curved brim seam and the first end of the curved brim lip so that fluid leak paths that might otherwise be formed when a lid is coupled to the rolled brim to close the opening into the interior region are minimized,
wherein the insulative cellular non-aromatic polymeric material is made from a formulation comprising a first polypropylene, and
wherein the curved brim lip has a generally constant brim-lip thickness throughout, the inner rolled tab of the curved brim seam has a generally constant inner-tab thickness that is smaller than the brim-lip thickness of the brim lip, and the outer rolled tab of the curved brim seam has a generally constant outer tab thickness that is smaller than the inner-tab thickness of the inner rolled tab.

2. The cup of claim 1 , wherein the curved brim seam has an area of localized plastic deformation.

3. The cup of claim 1 , wherein the body is defined by a sleeve-shaped side wall including an upright inner strip arranged to bound a portion of the interior region of the body and coupled to the outer rolled tab of the curved brim seam and an upright outer strip coupled to the inner rolled tab of the curved brim seam and arranged to lie outside of the interior region of the body and to overlie and mate with the upright inner strip to establish a side-wall seam that is aligned in registry with the overlying curved brim seam.

4. The cup of claim 1 , wherein the rolled brim terminates at an annular distal end that is arranged to surround and lie in spaced-apart relation to the body to define therebetween an annular mouth opening to the interior chamber formed in the rolled brim.

5. The cup of claim 1 , wherein the brim seam is defined by a plastically deformed first material segment having a first density and the brim lip is defined by a second material segment having a second density lower than the first density.

6. The cup of claim 1 , wherein the rolled brim includes a distal portion formed to include a terminal end of the rolled brim and arranged to lie around and alongside an upper portion of the body and a proximal portion arranged to interconnect the body and the distal portion and define a mouth opening into the interior region of the body, the proximal portion is defined by a first material segment having a first density, and the distal portion is defined by a second material segment having a lower second density.

7. The cup of claim 1 , wherein the outer rolled tab of the brim seam is defined by a first material segment having a first density and the inner rolled tab of the brim seam is defined by a second material segment having a lower second density.

8. The cup of claim 1 , wherein the rolled-brim efficiency is in a range of about 1.0 to about 1.3.

9. The cup of claim 8 , wherein the rolled-brim efficiency is in a range of about 1.0 to about 1.2.

10. The cup of claim 9 , wherein the cup passes a leak performance test.

11. The cup of claim 10 , wherein the leak performance test is performed according to the Montreal leak test procedure.

12. The cup of claim 1 , wherein the formulation further comprises a second polypropylene, at least one nucleating agent, and at least one blowing agent.

13. The cup of claim 12 , wherein the first polypropylene is a high melt strength polypropylene having a melt strength of at least 36 centinewtons (cN).

14. The cup of claim 13 , wherein the first polypropylene is a homopolymer and the second polypropylene is a homopolymer.

15. A cup comprising
a body made of a polypropylene-based polymeric material and formed to include an interior region providing a fluid-holding reservoir and
a rolled brim made of the polypropylene-based polymeric material and formed to include an interior chamber, the rolled brim being coupled to the body to frame an opening into the interior region and to extend around the body to cause the interior chamber of the rolled brim to lie outside of the interior region of the cup,
wherein the rolled brim includes a curved brim lip having a first end and an opposite second end arranged to lie in spaced-apart confronting relation to the first end and a curved brim seam arranged to interconnect the first end and the opposite second end of the curved brim lip,
wherein the curved brim seam includes an inner rolled tab coupled to the first end of the curved brim lip and an outer rolled tab coupled to the second end of the curved brim lip and arranged to overlie and mate with an outwardly facing surface of the inner rolled tab,
wherein the rolled brim has a rolled-brim efficiency in a range of about 1.0 to about 1.40 to provide a substantially endless and even outer surface of the rolled brim along the entire circumference of the rolled brim with little, if any, step formed in the rolled brim at a junction formed between the curved brim seam and the first end of the curved brim lip so that fluid leak paths that might otherwise be formed when a lid is coupled to the rolled brim to close the opening into the interior region are minimized, and
wherein the curved brim lip has a generally constant brim-lip thickness throughout, the inner rolled tab of the curved brim seam has a generally constant inner-tab thickness that is smaller than the brim-lip thickness of the brim lip, and the outer rolled tab of the curved brim seam has a generally constant outer tab thickness that is smaller than the inner-tab thickness of the inner rolled tab.

16. The cup of claim 15 , wherein the polypropylene-based polymeric material is an insulative cellular non-aromatic polymeric material.

17. The cup of claim 15 , wherein the rolled brim includes a distal portion formed to include a terminal end of the rolled brim and arranged to lie around and alongside an upper portion of the body and a proximal portion arranged to interconnect the body and the distal portion and define a mouth opening into the interior region of the body, the proximal portion is defined by a first material segment having a first density, and the distal portion is defined by a second material segment having a lower second density.

18. The cup of claim 15 , wherein the outer rolled tab of the brim seam is defined by a first material segment having a first density and the inn

Assignees

• Berry Plastics Corp

Inventors

• Euler John B
• Sun David Dezhou
• Leser Chris K
• Ackerman Roy E

Classifications

• B65D81/3874

  formed of different materials, e.g. laminated or foam filling between walls · CPC title

• B65D81/3867 Primary

  formed of foam material · CPC title

• B65D77/204

  the cover having an unsealed portion for initiating removal (B65D77/2036 takes precedence) · CPC title