BACKGROUND-FIELD OF INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to a cup support structure. In particular, the present invention is a cup support that prevents a paper cup from collapsing under pressure.

BACKGROUND-DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART [0002] Cups may be made of a variety of material such as paper, plastic, Styrofoam, or glass. Cups are used to hold a variety of liquids such as water, milk, soft drinks, coffee, tea, and juice. Most fast food restaurants use paper cups for cold drinks such as cold water, cold milk, soft drink, and juice, and Styrofoam cups for hot drinks such as hot water, coffee, and tea. The main advantage of paper and Styrofoam cups are their low cost and light weight. [0003] However, these cups have a relatively weak structure and will collapse easily if too much pressure is applied to them when one is holding or picking-up the cups. This may result in a spilled mess and inconvenience when the cup is holding cold liquids. When the cup is holding a hot liquid, however, the consequence of a collapsed cup is much more severe. The hot liquid may spill on the user's hand which is exactly what was alleged to have happened in the lawsuit filed on January 23, 2004 in Madison County, Illinois, against Starbucks Corp. by Molly Alter, a Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville graduate student who bought a cup of coffee at the Starbucks shop on campus on December 3, 2003. Alter claims that the cup was bent or creased, causing hot coffee to spill onto Alter' s hands and suffered second-degree burns and lost a layer of skin on both hands. [0004] People have attempted different ways to overcome this structural deficiency with cups, particularly with cups that hold hot liquids. One method places a thick cardboard cylinder around the cup to strengthen the walls of the cup and to insulate the high temperature liquid from one's hand. Another method simply places one cup inside another identical cup to increase the wall thickness and strength of the cup. Both of these methods substantially increase the cost of the cup and are not very effective at preventing collapse of the cup.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] The present invention is a cup support structure to prevent collapse of a cup under pressure. In the preferred embodiment, the cup support comprises of a support structure inserted inside a cup with multiple webs extending radially from a central axis and terminate at a radius approximately the inside diameter of the cup with an angle formed at its leading edge to coincide generally with the angle of the cup wall. The structure may be a single unit or may be an assembly of webs. In another embodiment, the cup support comprises of a ring with multiple flexible curved members extending away from the ring forming a generally conical shape with curved walls that can be inserted into a cup to be supported. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0006] Figure 1 shows the preferred embodiment of the cup support inserted inside a cup. [0007] Figure 2 shows the top view of the preferred embodiment of the cup support. [0008] Figure 3 shows another embodiment of the cup support. [0009] Figure 4 shows another embodiment of the cup support. [0010] Figure 5 shows another embodiment of the cup support inserted inside a cup. [0011] Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the cup support shown in figure 5. [0012] Figure 7 shows a top view of the cup support shown in figure 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0013] The following description and figures are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting. Other embodiments of this invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of this description. [0014] The cup support structure of the present invention will prevent collapse of a cup under pressure when held by hand. In the preferred embodiment shown in figures 1 and 2, the cup support comprises of a support structure 1 inserted inside a cup 2 with multiple webs 3 extending radially from a central axis and terminate at a radius approximately the inside diameter of the cup 2 with an angle formed at its leading edge to coincide generally with the angle of the cup wall. The number of webs may vary from three webs to eight or more webs depending on the cup 2 dimension and the temperature of the liquid held by the cup 2. The support structure 1 is preferably made of plastic. When the cup support is inserted into a cup 2, it provides structural support to the wall of the cup 2 to prevent collapse of the cup 2 due to pressure applied by hand when the cup 2 is picked up or held. [0015] The support structure 1 may also be an assembly of two pairs of webs 4, 5 as shown in figure 3, which before assembly are pairs of opposing webs 4, 5 joined at a mid-section with an engagement means 6, 7 at said mid-section such as a notch or other engagement means that are taught by prior arts. With the notch engagement means 6, 7, one pair of webs 5 will have the notch 7 at its centerline extending from the top edge to near the bottom edge. The other pair of webs 4 will have the notch 6 at its centerline extending from the bottom edge to near the top edge. The pairs of the webs 4, 5 may be assembled with each other at their centerlines to form the final support structure 1 for placement into the cup 2 to support the cup wall. [0016] The support structure 1 may also be a one piece flat trapezoid structure as shown in figure 4 with a pair of cut-outs 8 on each side and with a continuous central portion from top to bottom. The non-parallel sides have an angle that coincides with the cup wall. The mid¬ section of the support structure 1 defined by the two pairs of cut-outs 8 can be rotated ninety degrees to form the final support structure for placement into the cup 2. In this configuration, the support structure 1 may be stored flat in the minimum amount of space. [0017] In another embodiment, the cup support comprises of a ring 9 with multiple flexible curved members 10 extending away from the ring 9 forming a generally conical shape with curved walls as shown in figures 5, 6, and 7 that can be inserted into a cup 2 to be supported. The number of flexible curved members 10 may vary from three flexible curved members 10 to eight or more flexible curved members 10 depending on the cup dimension and the temperature of the liquid held by the cup 2. The support structure 1 is preferably made of plastic. The flexible curved members 10 provide structural support to the cup wall by exerting an outward force against the cup wall. [0018] Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.