Sleeves for providing thermal insulation for the hand have previously been proposed for use with containers for hot or cold beverages, food, or the like. The sleeve is located around the container to provide a band of increased thermal protection by which the user may comfortably grip the container, through the sleeve.

The present invention provides a sleeve which, in use, is located around a hand-held container to provide thermal insulation between the container and a hand holding the container, the sleeve having at least one face formed of liquid absorbent material.

The meaning, within this document, of the term"absorbent", and related terms, is set out later in this document.

Preferably the liquid absorbent material is a paper. The liquid absorbent material is preferably a tissue paper.

The sleeve may be formed from multiple sheets of paper. These may be retained together by a pressing operation.

In one alternative, both faces of the sleeve are formed of liquid absorbent material. In another alternative, one face is formed of liquid absorbent material, the other face being liquid impervious. The liquid impervious face may be formed by a sheet of material which retains strength when the absorbent face is wet, to support the absorbent material. The sleeve may be formed of a laminate of absorbent material and strength-retaining material.

The sleeve is preferably formed by bringing together the ends of a strip of material, and thereafter retaining the ends together. The ends of the strip may be cut transverse to the length of the strip, to allow the ends to be interlocked.

Alternatively, the strip ends may be retained by means of adhesive. In a further alternative, the ends of the strip may be retained together by a pressing operation.

Preferably the circumference of the sleeve is sufficient to receive a beverage or food container.

Preferably the material of the sleeve is embossed to provide decoration.

The decoration may include a graphic design and/or text.

The-invention also provides a blank for forming a sleeve as defined above, the blank being in the form of a strip of material having ends which may be brought together to form the sleeve, the strip having at least one face formed of liquid absorbent material.

A blank in accordance with this aspect of the invention may incorporate any feature or combination of features set out above in relation to the first aspect of the invention.

Examples of the present invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a face view of a blank for forming a sleeve in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the blank formed into a sleeve, and indicating its manner of use in conjunction with a container ; Fig. 3 is a section through the blank of Fig. 1, along the line 3-3; Fig. 4 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 2, showing alternative relative dimensions for the sleeve and container; and Figs. 5 and 6 are schematic plan views of the sleeve of Fig. 3, showing alternative manners in which the ends of the blank may be brought together when forming the sleeve.

Fig. 1 shows a blank 10 for use in forming a sleeve 12 (Fig. 2). The blank 10 is generally in the form of a strip 14 having ends 16 which can be brought together to form the sleeve 12. Various arrangements for retaining together the ends 16 will be described below.

The sleeve 12 so formed can be located around a container 18, illustrated by broken lines in Fig. 2. A user can hold the container 18 by gripping the sleeve 12. The material of the sleeve 12 therefore provides additional thermal insulation between the user's hand and the container 18 and its contents. The container 18 may be a beverage cup or other type of food container, for example. Thermal insulation may be desired because the contents are hot or cold.

Returning to Fig. 1, the strip 14 is generally elongate but slightly curved so that when the ends 16 are brought together, the sleeve 12 is slightly flared, being wider at its upper mouth 20 than at its lower mouth 22. This assists in providing a snug fit of the sleeve 12 around a tapering container 18, such as a beverage cup. Beverage cups are commonly tapered to allow empty containers to be nested inside each other for compact storage.

The strip 14 is made of one or more layers of material which together provide sufficient thermal insulation to increase the comfort of a user. The face 24 visible in Fig. 1 is formed of a liquid absorbent material. This may be a paper, preferably a tissue paper.

The meaning of"absorbent"and similar terms can be understood by reference to the Appendix to this description, to which reference should now be made. The Appendix constitutes part of this description for the purposes of this patent application.

The thermal insulation provided by the sleeve 12 can be increased by increasing the number of layers forming the strip 14. In a preferred example, several sheets of multi-ply tissue paper are overlaid to produce a four-ply or eight-ply strip 14.

The face 24 carries a profile, as can be seen most clearly in Fig. 3. This shows that the edges 26 are relatively thin, but carry some decorative profiling at 28. This forms a decorative border 30 (Fig. 1). Many other decorative designs could be used. Within the border 30, the main body 32 is thicker than the edges 26, except at a decorative zone 34. The decorative zone 34 carries an embossed profile which may serve one or more of a range of functions. The zone 34 may be purely decorative, particularly to complement the decorative profile around the border 30. Thus, the zone 34 may include graphic matter.

Alternatively, or in addition, the zone 34 may be embossed to create text, such as a description of the contents of the container 18, or a logo or other trade mark material relating to the contents of the container 18, or the supplier of the product.

The decorative border 30 and the zone 34 are formed by a pressing operation which provides pressure perpendicular to the face of the blank 10, in the directions indicated by the arrows 36 (Fig. 3). A rotary or flatbed letterpress machine, for example, can be used to perform the pressing operation. This pressing causes compression of the layers of the blank 10, in the areas which are subjected to pressure. Other areas are left substantially unaffected. By means of an appropriate choice of pressure and material, the blank 10 is caused to remain compressed in areas to which pressure has been applied. For example, the intermingled paper fibres of a tissue paper layer will become further entangled during the pressing process and thus, when the pressure is removed, the compressed region of paper will not revert to its original thickness. Similarly, pressure can be applied to cause fibres of adjacent layers of material, particularly tissue paper, to intermingle and thus remain compacted and attached after release of the pressure, thus creating attachment between the adjacent tissue paper layers.

This type of pressing action is used around the border 30 to attach together the various layers of the blank 10 by forming depressions visible in Fig.

3. Thus, the layers are attached together around their edges, while being simultaneously embossed to provide a visually attractive appearance for the border 30. The blank may be cut to shape as part of the same pressing action, by means of appropriately positioned blades.

In the decorative zone 34, the layers of the blank 10 are further attached together in the manner described, but the principal purpose of pressing this zone is to emboss the zone 34 with decorative, informative or proprietary information.

Consequently, when the sleeve 12 is in use (Fig. 2) the decorative appearance of the overall packaging for the container contents is enhanced by the decoration on the sleeve 12. Information to the person holding the container 18 is improved by any informative content within the zone 34. (For example, the zone 34 may identify the beverage within the container 18, as indicated in Fig. 3 by the word"coffee"). Alternatively or in addition, the zone 34 may present a trade mark, logo or other indication of the producer or seller of the container 18 and its contents. The above description has referred to a single decorative zone 34 but it will be apparent that additional zones could be provided.

A sleeve 12 formed in accordance with the invention has a further significant advantage arising from the liquid absorbent nature of at least one of its faces. In the event that liquid from the container 18 is spilt, the absorbent face of the sleeve 12 may be used to mop up the spillage. For example, if spilt liquid runs down the outer face of the container 18, it is likely to be absorbed when running across the sleeve 12. In the event of a more serious spillage, for example onto a table, the sleeve 12 can be temporarily removed from the container 18 in order to mop up the spill, or can be used for mopping after the remainder of the container contents have been consumed. It is also envisaged that the absorbent face of the sleeve 12 could be used to mop the user's lips, or to wipe their fingers or the like, after the container contents have been consumed. Many alternative materials could be chosen to achieve this purpose of absorbing liquid, having a wide range of absorbency when measured by a technique such as that set out in the Appendix hereto. It is envisaged that a material which can conveniently and comfortably absorb in the manner described, can readily be distinguished from a material which cannot.

In this example, as shown in Fig. 2, the sleeve 12 is relatively narrow as compared with the height of the container 18. However, it should be understood that these relative dimensions are given solely by way of example. Alternatively, the sleeve 12 could be much wider relative to the height of the container, perhaps extending the full or almost full height of the container, to allow the container to be gripped at any convenient height, while still benefiting from the protection provided by the sleeve 12. Fig. 4 illustrates this alternative, in which a container 18'is surrounded by a sleeve 12'which extends virtually the whole height of the container 18'.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate two forms in which the ends 16 of the strip 14 can be retained together. Fig. 5 illustrates the arrangement assumed in Fig. 1, which shows transverse cuts 38 extending approximately half way across the strip 14.

The cuts 38 extend in from opposite long sides of the strip 14. Consequently, when the ends 16 come together, the cuts 38 allow the two ends 16 to be hooked together as indicated in Fig. 5, with the extreme ends 40 both inside or both outside the sleeve 12.

Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 6, the ends 16 can be left uncut and simply overlapped with the interposition of adhesive at 42, to secure the ends 16 together. In this case, one extreme end 40 is within the sleeve, and the other is outside. This alternative arrangement is shown for the sleeve 12'of Fig. 4.

In a further alternative (not illustrated), the ends of the strip 14 can be retained together by overlaying and then pressing, in the manner which has been described above for attaching together the various layers of the blank 10 around the border 30, by reference to Fig. 3. For some circumstances, this form of attachment, being created at the time of manufacture of the blank 10 and intended to be permanent, may be more convenient for the ultimate user than a blank formed to allow the user to connect the ends by hooking, as indicated in Fig. 5.

Various modifications can be made to the arrangements described above, without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, many other shapes and sizes of sleeve can be produced according to the size and shape of the container with which the particular sleeve is intended to be used, and for decorative reasons. The relative sizes of sleeve and container, illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, can be used with either of the arrangements for securing the ends, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Other relative dimensions and other suitable connection arrangements could be used. Decorative, informative or proprietary information provided on the sleeve, particularly in the decorative zone 34, is preferably provided by embossing as described above, but could alternatively be provided by printing. In a particularly preferred arrangement, the pressing operation to emboss the zone 34 may be achieved by means of an inked plate, thereby leaving a printed image in alignment with the embossed form. One or more of the paper layers of the blank may be coloured paper, for enhanced aesthetic effect.

The use of paper, particularly tissue paper, for all layers of the sleeve is expected to enhance the absorbency of the sleeve and is helpful in facilitating embossing. However, it is also envisaged that in an alternative, only one face of the sleeve is formed of liquid absorbent material, the other being formed of a material which is liquid impervious, particularly a material which retains its strength when the absorbent material is wet, so that the absorbent material remains supported. For example, a sheet of flexible, absorbent paper laminated to a plastic material could be used in this way, being embossed primarily for decorative reasons.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

APPENDIX Meaning of"Absorbent"and Related Terms The paragraphs set out above make reference to the term"absorbent", "absorbency"and related terms. We recognise that these terms can be considered as relative terms. However, absorbency can be quantified, for example by reference to the weight of water which can be absorbed by a sheet of a particular surface area. An approach of this nature forms the basis of a specification for quantifying absorbency within the National Health Service of the United Kingdom. Thus, NHS specification no. TSS/D/300,00 (June 1972) provides a test technique for testing the absorbency of disposable incontinence underpads. Test two at section 7.2 of that specification sets out a process for determining the water retention capacity. Full details are set out in that specification, the contents of which are incorporated herein. In summary, a portion of the material under test is first weighed and then laid onto a perforated metal plate for immersion in water until the sample is saturated. The plate, carrying the sample, is then removed from the water and left to drain for a period of time (sixty seconds). A weight is then rested onto the sample for a further period of time (thirty seconds). The sample, including any water still absorbed within it, is then re-weighed. The water retention capacity is calculated by deducting the dry weight of the sample from the final weight and expressing the result as mi/100 cm2 of the surface area of the sample.

For example, when tested in this manner, an eight-ply pad of tissue paper is found to have an absorbency of approximately 12 to 13 g/100 cm2.

Naturally, a material with a higher degree of absorbency (a higher number of grams of water absorbed per 100 cm2) could be used. Materials with lower absorbency could also be used but we envisage that in order to be"absorbent", as that term is used herein, a material should exhibit an absorbency of at least 3 g/100 cm2, and preferably at least 6 g/100 cm2.