CONTAINERS FOR FOOD AND BEVERAGES

TECHNICAL FIELD:

The invention relates to the field of human needs, that is, to containers for food and beverages for one-shot usage.

TECHNICAL LEVEL:

Containers for one-shot usage (such as cups, boxes) are usually made of cardboard or plastic. For food and beverages (cold or hot) there are various containers of different sizes and colours, which have or do not have printed superscription (text or images) on the surface.

As a rule, directly after using a container for food or drink should be disposed, since it becomes wet, dirty, and unserviceable as a data storage device.

From the standpoint of economical efficiency and technical feasibility it is unnecessarily to print superscription on the surface of a container, especially when product quantity is not big. If it is, a content of superscription may become irrelevant, and such container to be disposed without proper use.

In some cases after using a container it is necessary to reserve a data storage device (for instance, a coupon with individual number) in the material form. At times there is a need to label a container (for instance, to name an appropriate product type contained in) after placing food or drink in it. It is also convenient to attach an extra item to a container (for instance, a one-use tea, sugar or spice bag to a disposable cup filled with hot water).

The proposed way can meet all these requirements

There already exists a way when at the time of selling, a detachable sticker is fixed to the front surface of the container (wraps) where necessary information for a consumer is already placed. The consumer can easily detach the sticker to remain it. If the sticker does not have an adhesive surface (for example, a standard business card), an additional adhesive strip should be used.

The sticker has an adhesive surface and therefore it should be closed for further storage. In this case such adhesive surface can be deformed (after folding it up). If a sticker is not thin or does not repeat the shape of the container (wraps), it may come off. If the sticker is thin or repeats the shape of the container, a consumer may take no notice of the label or is not on to separate it.

There are many ways to attach a bag of tea, sugar, spice to a disposable cup. Typically, tea bags are fixed to the inner surface of a cup or its lid, other items are preferably fixed on the lid. A side surface of such containers is rarely used for this purpose.

There already exist containers with pockets fixed to their outer walls (US20180370685, US091 19490).

There already exists the device for affixing an item with a disposable beverage container (US20140361017). This device consists of the elements located near the bottom of the container in downbound open cavity. Those elements may be deformed or destroyed that is why such a device is rather impractical and unfit for consumers.

There already exists a container (GB2455081 ) with central area and outer fillet. The edge of the fillet has at least one slit directed inward from the fillet where a card can be inserted. This is rather simple solution but it cannot be used for most beverage containers, for example, for an ordinary disposable cup.

There already exists a beverage container with an elastic clamp near the handle to be held (US20050184078). This solution is not suitable for disposable containers, since such containers are made of thin-walled materials and strength is not sufficient for fixing the elastic clamp.

The closest analogue (US5729922) is a mug that has side walls and a bottom. In the side wall of the mug there is a cavity open to the outer surface. This cavity shapes a cut-out in the upper edge of the mug, and is designed for placement sets of tiles. However this technical solution is not suitable for a disposable container, as such containers are made of thin- walled materials, and their wall thickness is not sufficient to form a cavity inside it.

A prototype of given invention is a common disposable cup that has side walls made of a solid slab cardboard blank and the bottom attached. If the cup walls are made of several layers, the side walls are the walls of the layer (cover) that covers the side walls outside.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The target of the present invention is to create a simple and economical design of a food and beverage container adapted to getting advertising or information message, placed on data storage device, to a consumer. Such device must be easily placed on and separated from the container without any damage as well as be clearly visible and palpable due to changing the design of a container itself.

To solve this application task, the given container for food and beverage has been created. In that container the side walls or walls of the cover coating the side walls from the outside are formed out of a solid slab cardboard blank. According to the invention, the outer side wall of the container or the outer wall of the cover coating its side wall has additionally a patch pocket formed by the protrusion of the cardboard blank. This protrusion is fixed to the outer surface of the side wall of the container, and at least one of the walls of the pocket is open to place detachable data storage device inside.

Alternatively, the pocket has a cut-out on the outer surface that forms a viewing window. As another option, the pocket has two open sides.

An important advantage is that the data storage device is well visible in the most container positions respecting a user, and well palpable while holding. The data storage device is easily placed and removed from the pocket without damage. Moreover, strength of the container itself intensifies due to the extra layer of a slab cardboard blank.

Unlike the usual variants, given designed container has an additional data storage device that is not strongly fixed to the container body and therefore does not necessarily go into garbage. According to the invention the technical solution can guarantee significant increase of usefulness of a usual container for food and beverages without great effort and complicated technical means.

Information on the data storage device may be presented in text (symbols), graphic (visual), tactile (volume), aromatic (flavour), sound (audio), or in electronic form (format) as well as any their combination.

It would be better when the top side of the patch pocket is open: in this case data storage devices are more secured in the pocket.

The alternative of the container, when the pocket has two open sides, seems to be better for placement of flat data storage device. This significantly simplifies the production of the container by reducing the number of bending points and interlocking joints between the protrusion of the cardboard blank and the side surface of the container (walls or cover) as well as requirements reducing. Flat data storage devices are simply placed in such a pocket and sufficiently kept. In this case it is better if the upper side and one of the neighbour sides of the patch pocket are open.

According to an additional variant of manufacture, a viewing window allows a consumer to get acquainted with the information on the data storage device without removing it from his pocket.

Despite the higher costs for producing such a container itself, significant economic effects are expected due to marketing benefits when using this kind of containers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES:

The principle of invention is illustrated by the drawings in Fig 1 - Fig 2 as follows:

Fig 1 - A cardboard blank for manufacturing side walls of a container for food and drink and such a container for food and drink as an end product. A pocket has one open side and a cut-out on the outer side forming a viewing window

Fig. 2 - A solid slab cardboard blank and a container for food and drink as an end product. The last one has two open sides.

LIST OF POSITIONS IN DRAWINGS:

1 - solid slab cardboard blank;

2 - cardboard blank protrusion; 3 - cut-out;

4 - side walls or walls of outer cover coating those side walls from outside;

5 - pocket;

6 - data storage device.

EXAMPLE OF SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE:

Example 1 :

A cardboard blank for manufacturing side walls of the container for food and beverages is shown in Fig.1.

Given container for food and beverage consists of a solid slab cardboard blank (1 ) which form side walls of this container or its walls of outer cover coating those side walls from outside. This cardboard blank has a protrusion (2) forming the outer walls of the pocket in the assembled product. The protrusion (2) has a cut-out (3) forming a viewing window on the outer surface of the pocket in the assembled product.

In the figures the zones of edges connected by glueing or thermal bonding are shown as reticulation. The fold lines are shown as stroke lines. Depending on the blank material (cardboard, plastic, etc.) the edges can be connected by glueing or thermal bonding but some surfaces can be connected only mechanically (for example, placing the protrusions of the cardboard blank in grooves as well as by twisting or bending).

A solid slab cardboard blank (1 ) is cut out of the cardboard. It is formed by squeezing some surfaces when heated (for example, the underside of the cardboard blank for fixing a bottom, the upper side for the formation of the enforcement rib on the upper edge of the container) for simplifying deformation. Then the cardboard blank is twisted to form a conical surface. After inserting the bottom, this cardboard blank should be glued glue edge-to-edge and in the protrusion zone (2), forming a pocket. In the end the food and beverage container is ready for use. Also it is possible to get an identical example in the form of outer cover of such a container with an appropriate shape (with or without a bottom).

The final product for food and beverage has side walls or walls of outer cover coating those side walls from outside (4). It is made of a slab cardboard blank (1 ) and a bottom fixed to its underside (is not shown in a Figure). A pocket (5) is formed by a protrusion of the cardboard blank (2) fixed to the outer surface of the side wall or the wall of the outer cover of the container. The pocket has a cut-out (3) that forms a viewing window. The data storage device (6) is placed in the pocket (5).

Example 2:

A cardboard blank for manufacturing side walls of the container for food and beverages is shown in Fig 2.

A food and beverage container consists of a solid slab cardboard blank (1 ) designed to form the side walls of the container or the walls of the cover coating the side walls of the container from outside. This cardboard blank has the protrusion (2) that forms the outer surface of the pocket in the assembled product.

A solid slab cardboard blank (1 ) is cut out of the cardboard. It is formed by squeezing some surfaces when heated (for example, the underside of the cardboard blank for fixing a bottom, the upper side for the formation of the enforcement rib on the upper edge of the container) for simplifying deformation. Then the cardboard blank is twisted to form a conical surface. After inserting the bottom, this cardboard blank should be glued edge-to-edge and in the protrusion zone (2), forming a pocket. In the end the food and beverage container is ready for use. Also it is possible to get an identical example of the outer cover of such a container with an appropriate shape (with or without a bottom).

The final product for food and beverage has side walls or walls of outer cover coating those side walls from outside (4). It is made of a slab cardboard blank (1 ), and a bottom fixed to its underside (is not shown in a Figure).

Such a pocket is formed by a protrusion of the cardboard blank (2 fixed to the outer surface of the side wall or the wall of the outer cover of the container (5). The data storage device (6) is placed in the pocket (5).

Example of using a container for food and beverage (Fig.1 , Fig.2):

At the place where consumers have drinks, the seller attaches a flat data storage device (6) with relevant text (advertising, information etc) directly to the pocket (5) on the side surface of a food and beverage container. During or after consumption the consumer can easily pull out this data storage device (6) and take it away, leaving the used food and beverage container for disposal.

The proposed food and beverage container can be made of carton or plastic. For its manufacturing a slab cardboard blank is put into shape following by glueing or soldering. This operation runs with materials, equipment, and technology available.

Variants of containers, which are currently made by twisting or bending a solid slab cardboard blank with the possible subsequent wall affixing, can be improved to be consistent with given claimed invention.