Background Art As is well known, conventional disposable paper cups, which are used to receive drinking water dispensed from a general cold/hot water dispenser, are furnished in a folded state to have a flat structure while being in a stacked and packed state so that they can be drawn one by one from the stack, for use thereof. When the user desires to drink water using such a conventional disposable paper cup, he widens the upper end portion of the cup to reform the cup from a folded shape into a cup shape, using his fingers.

However, if the fingers of the user are in a contaminated state, he then must drink contaminated water. For this reason, the conventional disposable paper cup has a sanitation problem. Furthermore, the conventional disposable paper cup cannot be set on a table or desk in an upright state. For this reason, once the user uses the cup, he must completely drink or dump the water remaining in the cup. However, this is uneconomical. Also, there is a degradation in utility.

In addition, the conventional disposable paper cup is easily deformable by even a weak grasping force applied thereto because of a high deformability thereof, thereby causing the water received in the cup to overflow. For this reason, the use of this conventional disposable paper cup is very inconvenient.

Disclosure of the Invention Therefore, a main object of the invention is to provide a disposable cup which can be maintained in a folded state to have a flat structure while

being in a stacked and packed state when they are not usea, wmcn can De reformed to secure a space able to receive drinking water when being pressed at opposite sides thereof, and which can be set on a table in an upright state while containing the drinking water.

Another object of the invention is to provide a disposable cup which has a high shape integrity making the cup maintain its usable shape, so that it does not exhibit an easy collapsing of shape due to an external force applied thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a disposable cup which has a configuration capable of securing a large drinking opening, thereby allowing stable drinking.

Another object of the invention is to provide a disposable cup which is configured to prevent heat of hot drink such as coffee received in the cup from being transmitted to the hand of the user grasping the cup, thereby preventing the user from getting burned in the hand.

In accordance with the present invention, these objects are accomplished by providing a disposable cup including an outer cup member provided with vertical folding lines at opposite portions of a circumferential surface thereof, respectively, while having a size gradually reduced from an upper end thereof to a lower end thereof, and an inner cup member received in the outer cup member while having a size gradually reduced from an upper end thereof to a lower end thereof, the outer and inner cup members being normally maintained in a folded state, while being reformed into a cup shape when the vertical folding lines are pressed, wherein: the outer cup member has a tubular structure opened at upper and lower ends thereof while having a folding line with a circular shape of a certain radius or a diamond shape at a region where each of the vertical folding lines is pressed, and each of the vertical holding lines is provided at a lower end portion thereof with a slit having a certain length; and the inner cup member has a structure opened at an upper end thereof while being closed at portions other than the upper end.

Preferably, the inner cup member contains a tea bag, or drinking powder or liquid. The outer cup member is preferably sealed at the upper end thereof while further having a tearing portion at the upper end thereof so that it can be horizontally torn along the tearing portion.

Preferably, a certain space is defined between the outer cup member

and the inner cup member.

The outer and inner cup members are preferably made of a paper or synthetic resin material.

Brief Description of the Drawings The above objects, and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a disposable cup according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a schematic view illustrating the using condition of the disposable cup; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A'of Fig. 2; Fig. 4a is a development view of an inner cup member according to the present invention; Fig. 4b is a development view of an outer cup member according to the present invention; and Fig. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a disposable cup according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Now, the characteristic configuration of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1 to 4b, a disposable cup according to the present invention is illustrated. As shown in Figs. 1 to 4b, the disposable cup includes an outer cup member 10, and an inner cup member 30 received in the outer cup member 10. The outer cup member 10 has a tubular structure opened at its upper and lower ends. The outer cup member 10 is provided, at opposite portions of a circumferential wall thereof, with folding means 20 adapted to fold the outer cup member 10 at the opposite circumferential wall portions thereof, while causing the outer cup member 10 to be inwardly depressed at the opposite circumferential wall portions thereof when a pressing force is applied thereto. The inner cup member 30 has a structure opened at its upper end while being closed at portions other than the upper end. When the folding means 20 of the outer cup member 10 are pressed,

the inner cup member 30 is reformed into a cup shape defining a space capable of receiving drinking water.

Although the outer cup member 10 and inner cup member 30 are not limited to any particular shape, they preferably have an inverted-truncated shape having a size gradually reduced from an upper end thereof to a lower end thereof, as in a general paper cup.

Each of the folding means 20 respectively provided at the opposite circumferential wall portions of the outer cup member 10 comprises a vertical folding line 21 formed at an associated one of the circumferential wall portions, and adapted to fold the outer cup member 10 therealong, a circular folding line 22 formed around the vertical folding line 21 in the form of a circle divided into semicircles by the vertical folding line 21, and a pressing region 23 defined by the circular folding line 22. When the pressing region 23 is pressed, it serves to fold the outer cup member 10 along the circular folding line 22 while unfolding the outer cup member 10 along the vertical folding line 21, thereby forming a depressed portion at the outer cup member 10. As a result, the inner cup member 30 is reformed into a three- dimensional cup shape defining a certain inner space therein while having a widened opening.

The inner cup member 30 has a development figure as shown in Fig.

4a. As shown in Fig. 4a, the inner cup member 30 is shaped to be inserted into the interior of the outer cup member 10 while being capable of being easily folded and widened.

Each vertical holding line 21 is provided at its lower end portion with a slit 24 having a desired length, as shown in Fig. 4b.

The slit 24 serves to make the outer cup member 10 be more easily reformed into a desired shape when the associated folding means 20 is depressed. The slit 24 is widened when the outer cup member 10 completely reformed into a three-dimensional shape is set on a table or desk in an upright state, so that it serves to make the outer cup member 10 stand more stably.

In addition to the above described configuration, the disposable cup of the present invention may be configured such that a dose of coffee mixture or honey, or a tea bag 40 is received in the inner cup member 30, and the upper ends of the inner cup member 30 and outer cup member 10 are sealed.

In this case, the user can drink a cup of coffee or tea without using a separate

cup. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a convenience in tne carrying ot cups of coffee or tea in outdoor leisure such as mountain climbing or fishing, and to provide a convenient cooking method for those drinking products.

Where the disposable cup contains the tea bag 40, the user releases a seal formed at the upper ends of the outer and inner cup members 10 and 30 by tearing the outer and inner cup members 10 and 30 along a tearing portion 31, presses the pressing regions 23 in the above described manner to reform the outer and inner cup members 10 and 30 into a cup shape, and then pouring water into the interior of the inner cup member 30, so that he can drink the tea.

Meanwhile, where a does of coffee mixture or honey is received in the inner cup member 30, the user stirs the water poured in the inner cup member 30 through the opening formed after the tearing of the tearing portion 31 such that the water is well mixed with the coffee mixture or honey.

Even when hot drink is received in the inner cup member 30, the transfer of the heat from the inner cup member 30 to the outer cup member 10 is very low because there is a certain space between the inner cup member 30 and the outer cup member 10.

Now, the procedure of using the disposable cup having the above described configuration according to the present invention will be described.

The disposable cup of the present invention is packed and stored in a folded state to have a flat structure, as in conventional paper cups.

Accordingly, it is possible to store and pack the disposable cup without occupancy of a large volume, and to conveniently carry the disposable cup in the outdoors.

When the user desires to use the cup, he presses the pressing regions 23 of the folding means 20 respectively formed at opposite portions of the circumferential wall of the outer cup member 10 by the fingers from the state of Fig. 1. As a result, the outer cup member 10 is folded along the circular folding lines 22 while being unfolded along the vertical folding lines 21, so that it is reformed to have depressed portions at respective pressing regions while having a widened opening at the upper end thereof, as shown in Fig. 2.

At this time, the inner cup member 30 is also reformed into a cup shape having a widened opening at the upper end thereof, similarly to the outer cup member 10.

Meanwhile, the slits 24 serve to make the pressing regions zD se more easily reformed into a desired shape by a reduced force. When the disposable cup is completely reformed into a cup shape, the slits 24 are downwardly widened as the pressing regions 23 are depressed. Accordingly, the disposable cup can be stably set on a table or desk in an upright state.

Industrial Applicability As apparent from the above description, the disposable cup of the present invention can be conveniently used in that it can be stored and carried with a greatly reduced volume, while being capable of being easily reformed into a cup shape for use thereof in accordance with a simple manipulation thereof. Moreover, the disposable cup can have the form of a cup containing an instant tea product. In addition, the disposable cup exhibits a superior thermal insulation effect when it is used for hot drink or water, as compared to conventional paper cups, because it has a double cup structure.