Insulated container, method of fabricating same and apparatus for fabricating
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of fabricating an insulated container, comprising the steps of:
- a) forming a generally frusto-conical shell;
b) providing a bonding material on an inside of said shell and/or on an outside of a generally frusto-conical cup;
c) inserting said cup into said shell until the inside of the shell or the outside of the cup wall seats against the bonding material along a contact path, andd) pressing the shell and the cup wall together in a substantially radial direction at a plurality of bonding spots to form a plurality of bonding spots in less than an entirety of the contact path,wherein said bonding spots are separated from each other by unbonded areas along said contact path and the sections of the shell that are not bound to the cup are spaced apart from the cup wall.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to an insulated container for hot drinks or the like comprising an inner cup having a generally frusto-conical cup body and a generally frusto-conical outer shell. The cup is seated within the shell so that a contact path is disposed near the upper edge of the shell, along which contact path the outer surface of the cup body and inner surface of the shell are in contact. At least one bonding spot and/or bonding area for bonding said shell to said cup body is locally formed within said contact path.
-
Citations
26 Claims
-
1. A method of fabricating an insulated container, comprising the steps of:
-
a) forming a generally frusto-conical shell; b) providing a bonding material on an inside of said shell and/or on an outside of a generally frusto-conical cup; c) inserting said cup into said shell until the inside of the shell or the outside of the cup wall seats against the bonding material along a contact path, and d) pressing the shell and the cup wall together in a substantially radial direction at a plurality of bonding spots to form a plurality of bonding spots in less than an entirety of the contact path, wherein said bonding spots are separated from each other by unbonded areas along said contact path and the sections of the shell that are not bound to the cup are spaced apart from the cup wall. - View Dependent Claims (2, 7, 8, 9, 15, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
3. A method of fabricating an insulated container, comprising the steps of:
-
a) forming a generally frusto-conical shell; b) heating a thermo sealable plastic coating provided on an inside of said shell and/or on an outside of a generally frusto-conical cup to its melting point; c) inserting said cup into said shell until the inside of the shell or the outside of a wall of the cup seats against the melted plastic along a contact path, and d) pressing the shell and the cup wall together in a substantially radial direction to form a plurality of bonding spots in less than an entirety of the contact path, wherein said bonding spots are separated from each other by unbonded areas along said contact path and the sections of the shell that are not bound to the cup are spaced apart from the cup wall. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 10, 14, 16, 21, 22)
-
-
11. A method of fabricating an insulated container, the method comprising:
-
a) forming a generally frusto-conical cup having an annular upper shoulder; b) forming a generally frusto-conical shell having an inward curl at a lower edge thereof; c) providing a bonding material on an inside of the shell or on an outside the cup; c) inserting the cup into the shell until the inside of the shell or the outside of the cup seats against the bonding material along a contact path, thereby forming a substantially uniform air gap between the cup and the shell having a predetermined spacing provided by the inward curl and the annular upper shoulder; and d) pressing the shell and the cup together in a substantially radial direction to form a plurality of bonding spots in less than an entirety of the contact path wherein said bonding spots are separated from each other by unbonded areas along said contact path. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
-
-
17. A method of fabricating an insulated container, the method comprising:
-
providing a generally frusto-conical cup and a generally frusto-conical shell, wherein at least one of the cup and shell has a surface that is selectively coated with a thermo-sealable plastic; seating the generally frusto-conical shell inside a receiving member that has a skirt portion to engage an outer surface of the generally frusto-conical shell; positioning an annular heating element proximate the generally frusto-conical cup or the generally-frustoconical shell so as to melt a strip in the thermo-sealable plastic coating; inserting the generally frusto-conical cup into the generally frusto-conical shell so that the inside of the shell or the outside of the cup seats against the melted strip of thermo-sealable plastic; positioning an annular disk inside the generally frusto-conical cup at a level of the melted strip of thermo-sealable plastic; placing an annular ring with a plurality of radially-extendable plungers around the frustoconical shell at the level of the melted strip of thermo-sealable plastic; and extending the radially-extendable plungers in a radial direction toward the annular disk to press the generally frusto-conical shell against the generally frusto-conical cup until the generally frusto-conical shell is bonded to the generally frusto-conical cup at a plurality of spots corresponding to positions of the radially-extendable plungers. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
-
Specification